Phoenix Days
by Galadeidre
Summary: Post X2. Four mutant kids...three phoenixes...two mutant teams...and one super strong phoenix who won't listen to reason. Can the other phoenixes possibly stop her? Or will she have her revenge and turn the Earth to ashes?
1. Out from the Waters

Hey, all of ya out there! This is my first book, so I dunno if its gonna be a hit or not so just keep on reading! I'd like to hear from u guys also! Enjoy!

**Chapter 1: Out from the Waters **

By: Galadeidre

(Note: This is after Xmen II, just for u all to know. If you haven't watched Xmen II, u had better, cuz it's a pretty good action-packed movie, especially if u love Xmen!)

(Note #2: All these characters that you recognize in this story…I don't own any of them. Just a disclaimer. The ones you don't know…well, duh…I own them!)

(Note #3: The disclaimer includes places, too!)

* * *

It was a clear night. No sign of clouds. The moon was full and bright. It was peaceful. It was quiet. The moon's reflection shone on the clear surface of the lake that was surrounded by a dense, dark forest.

A wolf howled in the distance.

A second wolf answered.

The lake started to ripple.

It was small at first, and got larger quickly.

A hand slowly rose out of the center of the ripples. An arm. A head – one with wet, red-brown hair that reached almost to the center of her back. The rest of her body slowly appeared. She was levitating. Floating out of the lake. She landed softly on the shore and looked up. Her eyes were like fire. She took a slow and deep breath – in and out.

Another wolf howled.

She slowly walked into the forest and melted into the shadows…

* * *

Another wolf howled yet again. This one was several miles from the lake, into deep banks of endless snow that had not seen any recent visitors.

A girl of three heard it. She looked up and out of the cabin window.

A second girl, older than the first, looked up at her. "What are they saying?"

The first girl was silent as she listened for the sounds of the wolves. "They're saying that she's come back."

"Any changes?" asked the second.

"They can't tell. She's different, though. Filled with a…a fiery attitude now…" her voice trailed off.

"Oh, that sounds reassuring."

"I only know what they tell me."

"I know."

The third girl, younger than the other two, spoke up from where she was sitting on the wooden floor by the fire. She had been playing with a deck of cards. She had laid down the first three in her pile, face-up. A three of diamonds. A queen of hearts. A black joker.

"Um, that's not a good sign," the third girl said innocently.

The other two looked at her and the cards.

"Uh, we don't know what that means, squirt," the first girl, the 'wolf-girl', replied.

"Three of diamonds, I think, is talking about us three," the little girl explained. "The queen of hearts has two meanings. One, is that someone, a girl I think, has come back. She was loved by many. The queen of hearts also has something to do with fire, but that's all I can remember. The black joker, well, you know. It's always a bad sign to pick the black joker."

"Thanks for the educational lesson," the first muttered.

"Well, you asked."

"Whatever."

The second girl looked at them both. "Enough of that." She leaned back in her chair. "What I'm wondering is why didn't the cards talk about Lex. You know, if something has to do with us, you usually pull out the four of diamonds. Yeah, maybe Lex doesn't have any power yet, but he's always still mentioned."

"I just pull the cards, sis," the little girl answered.

The elder nodded her head thoughtfully and got up. "I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too long, you two."

"I'm a werewolf, sis," the first girl called. "I don't sleep when the wolves are howling."

The second girl, the elder sister, turned to look at her. "Try getting some rest." She gave her younger werewolf sister a look square in the eye. "Believe me. You'll need it."


	2. New Mutants

**Chapter 2: New Mutants**

By: Galadeidre

Cyclops paced around the cozy living room. He was in a state of distress again.

Wolverine was lounging in one of the easy chairs, his legs splayed out in front of him, smoking a cigar. He took out the cigar and spoke. "Summers, sit down."

"How am I supposed to sit down?"

"You just sit," Wolverine answered sarcastically. He was quiet for a moment before he spoke up again. "You've been at this for months. It's not gonna do anything. Summers, she's not coming back."

Cyclops turned on him furiously and started yelling. "How would you know?! I should have been there! I should've protected her!" His voice cracked and he finally sat down in an easy chair opposite Wolverine. He buried his face in his hands. "I should've stopped her…"

Wolverine exhaled and placed the cigar back in his mouth. He turned to stare at the fire that was burning cozily in the fireplace. "It's not like you're the only one that cared for her. We all did. I miss her as much as you did."

Cyclops didn't say anything.

Just then, Storm came in along with Charles Xavier, the head of the School for Gifted Youngsters, which was where they were all living.

Charles took one look at Cyclops, and spoke up. "I'm sorry, Scott. I know you don't want to hear this, but you need to let her go."

Cyclops sniffed. "It's gonna take some time…Professor."

Wolverine slammed his fist on the small table in front of him and stood up. He walked over to Scott and lifted him up by the shirt collar. "When the hell are you going to grow up, huh? It's been six months since we lost her. Half a year! When are you gonna grow up and face the facts!"

"Logan, sit down," Charles said calmly. Wolverine let go of Cyclops slowly. "And how many times have I asked you to never smoke in the mansion?"

Wolverine grunted and ignored the question.

Charles took a deep breath. "I think that this is the time that we tell you of a new discovery."

Charles moved towards the table that showed 3-dimensional images of all the places in the world. The others followed him.

"I've used Cerebro and located three extraordinary mutant powers. They, I believe, will be very helpful to us as time goes by."

"What do you mean by that?" Wolverine asked. The Professor's gaze answered his question. "You have a feeling that he'll come back, don't you?"

Charles sighed once more. "He always does."

"That's why we need to find these three mutants?" Storm asked.

Charles nodded.

"Who are these three?" Wolverine asked.

"You'll know them, the minute you spot them. Believe me, Logan. They know me, as well. And they may be hard to convince to come here. If they don't, well, don't push them." Charles glanced at Cyclops. "Do you think you'll be all right if I assign you to this mission, Scott?"

Cyclops looked at the Professor and inhaled deeply. "I'll be fine. Where will we find them?"

"Ironically, you'll find them nearby where you found Wolverine and Rogue." He turned towards the 3-dimensional image table. "They have been living nearby Laughlin City. I presume you know where that is, Logan."

Wolverine gave a snort. "You can't call it quite a city."

"Yes, of course. They live near there, though. It's a good place to start looking for them."

"It'd be good if you told us their names so we can find them," Wolverine muttered.

"No need." Charles started to wheel out the door. "I have no doubt that you'll find them."


	3. The New Queen of the Cage

**Chapter 3: The New Queen of the Cage**

By: Galadeidre

"Well, here we are," Storm replied as they got out of the car. "Laughlin City."

It was a quaint little city (not really…if you've watched Xmen I, then you know what it looks like). It was cold and there was a bit of snow falling.

Storm, Cyclops, and Wolverine had gone on the mission. They also had brought along Rogue, Bobby the 'IceMan', and one other character, Kurt Wagner, or otherwise known as 'Nightcrawler'.

"It hasn't changed a bit," Wolverine muttered sarcastically. He took out a cigar and lit it. He started to walk into the 'city'.

Scott stepped forward, trying to assume control. "Hey, Logan, where are you going?"

"My favorite dugout," the man-of-steel answered, not looking back. The others quickly followed him.

They followed Wolverine into a bar or sorts. As you walked further in, there was a roped ring with chairs and benches around it. The place was packed with screaming and shouting people watching the two combatants in the ring.

The people shouted and several booed as one of the fighters fell, knocked out. He was dragged out of the ring and the announcer called for another fighter. Another one came in and the battle waged on.

"Logan," Rogue started. "Let's sit down." Her southern accented voice was soft and a bit scared. Bobby held one of her gloved hands tightly.

Wolverine looked around for a spot to sit. He noticed a small red leather couch on the far wall that was only occupied by a young, black-haired girl who wasn't paying any attention to the ring fight. It was one of those semi-circular couches. A wooden table had been set in the middle of it, where the young girl set her drink down.

"That girl looks inviting," Wolverine muttered. "Let's sit over there." They all followed him towards the couch.

As they sat down, they could sense the girl looking at them.

Rogue looked up. Her eyes met the girl's. It was the blackest eyes she had ever seen. It was as if she knew much more than she was letting on – many secrets. It seemed as if Rogue was being sucked into the deep depths of them.

The girl turned away and immediately, the feeling left Rogue.

Bobby saw Rogue shiver. "Rogue?"

"I'm fine." She gave her boyfriend a faint smile. "Really, Bobby. I'm fine."

Cyclops, Wolverine, Storm, and Nightcrawler were all scanning the area.

"Any signs of them?" Scott asked.

"No." Wolverine was frustrated. How in the world were they going to spot these mutants in the middle of this rambunctious ramble?

Wolverine swore and fell back into the couch. He eyed the black-haired girl, who had turned around to silently watch the fight while she took a sip of her soda.

She was well in figure, he noticed. Not much older than Rogue from the looks of it. Her dark wavy hair had been tucked into her plain, dark green sweatshirt she was wearing. It covered her face, for he could only see her side profile, but he saw her fingers. They were delicate and a bit small, yet not too much. They were a smooth tannish-golden brown. Lighter than Storm's skin, but darker than white skin. He examined it a bit more. They had been used for fighting, no doubt. How good was she at fighting, or was it just his imagination?

The announcer called for another fighter. The same fighter was still king of the cage.

A woman in the chair right beside the girl turned around to face her.

"Honey, you should try it." The girl stopped sipping her soda and silently looked at her. This had caught the attention of the other Xmen. "C'mon. I know you fight. I bet you'd have a fair chance at winning."__

_Who is this girl?_ Wolverine thought. From the looks on the faces of the others, they were all thinking the exact same thing.

"I don't want to." The girl's voice was soft, but had a commanding sense in it. There was a southern accent in it, too.

"C'mon. I'm sure you'll like it."

The girl said nothing and stared at the fighter who was starting to boast into the microphone.

"C'mon, you wimps!" The fighter shouted. "Are all you all chicken to fight me? Huh? You're all a bunch of losers! Just like those mutant freaks!"

Wolverine growled slightly. The others watched with uneasiness at the fighter.

"Logan, don't," Scott warned.

"Don't tell me what to do," Wolverine growled.

But before he was able to do anything the girl placed her soda on the table and stood up.

"Maybe, I will fight. Just for kicks." She walked towards the ring.

The fighter and announcer spotted her at the same time.

"Looks like we got ourselves a volunteer," the announcer called.

Much to the Xmen's surprise, a loud cheer rose throughout the crowd.

The fighter sneered. "This aint a catfight, pumpkin."

"I know."

"Well, then you do know that just because you're a girl doesn't mean I'm gonna go easy on you, babe."

"I'd rather have it that way than any other." She gave a chuckle. "'Cause it won't matter. I'll go easy and still set you down in two shots."

"What?!" the fighter shouted. "You bratty little punk." He leaned towards the announcer. "She's on."

The announcer nodded. "Let the match begin!" He quietly got out of the way. The bell rung.

The fighter charged at the girl. She slowly stepped out of his way, making him crash into the ropes.

The fighter charged again. She amazingly jumped over him. The 'king of the cage' sprawled on the ring floor. He slowly got up, heaving furiously and glaring hard at the girl. His eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets.

Throughout this whole time, the girl had kept her hands in her sweatshirt's front pocket. Now she took them out. She took off her dark green sweatshirt, revealing a not-too-tight short-sleeved shirt that was a plain, dark red color. There was a dark green long-sleeved shirt underneath that. Her hair flew this way and that as she took off her sweatshirt. It was silky and slightly wavy and reached almost past her waist. Her eyes were still the intense, black abyss Rogue had noticed before. She flicked a few strands of her hair out of her face, looked down at the fighter, and gave a small smile.

"You've had your fun. Now, let me have mine. As I told you, it'll only take me two shots. You had two chances, now let me try." She grinned. "Who knows, I might be merciful and make it three instead."

The fighter was furious. He charged at her again. This time, she ducked and landed a punch upwards, right on his stomach. The fighter staggered backwards, clutching his stomach. The crowd was shocked. A mere girl had landed a punch that hard on a man that was probably three times her weight?!

"That was one." She ran towards him, jumped, and did one swift turn, kicking him square on the right cheek. "That was the second." The fighter was on the ground, knocked out cold. There was a bit of blood coming out of his nose and mouth, but that was all. The girl heaved a sigh and picked up her sweatshirt. "And I didn't even break a sweat," she muttered.

"Scott," Storm whispered. "You don't think she's one of them, do you?"

"I don't know," Cyclops answered. "It would explain a lot. My guess is, if she is one of them, she's most likely the youngest out of the three. She looks pretty young."

The announcer was watching the unconscious fighter being dragged out of the ring. "Well…uh…it seems we've got ourselves a new winner." He leaned towards the girl. "What's your name, dumpling?"

"Well, it's for sure not dumpling," the girl muttered. The announcer gave an uneasy laugh. She was quiet for a moment. "Just call me Egypt's Girl for all I care."

"Well, it's kinda an odd name, but Egypt's Girl it is." He turned back towards the audience. "Let's give a loud cheer for Egypt's Girl!"

The girl rolled her eyes. "Corny…" she muttered under her breath.

The announcer continued. "Now, who's gonna go against this sweet flower, eh? C'mon, all of you men. You're not gonna tell me that you're gonna let a mere innocent-looking babe like her walk away with all your cash, now do ya?"

The crowd's uproar was a mix of yes and no. Evidently, the girl was a bit more popular than the announcer thought she'd be.

Four more fighters decided to fight against her. They all ended up just like the first – knocked out cold and limp. To the girl, this just seemed to be a small workout for her.

Wolverine started to stand up.

"Logan. Logan, what do you think you're doing?" Scott asked, grabbing hold of Wolverine's arm.

"I'm going to go up there and fight." He gave the one-eye a grin. "I've been itchin' to have a one-on-one match up there."

"You might hurt her."

Wolverine snorted. "Doubt that. Besides, I'll try to find out if she is one of them we're looking for." He got out of Cyclops's grip and walked towards the ring.

The girl's back was turned to where the Xmen were standing, but she sensed him coming up.

The announcer spotted him. "Looks like we're gonna have another fight! Hopefully, this one will last longer than the previous one."

Wolverine chuckled and stepped into the ring. The crowd was cheering like crazy. You couldn't even tell who they were rooting for now.

The announcer walked over to him. "What's your name?"

"Wolverine," he muttered and started to loosen up for the match.

The girl watched him with interest in her eyes. "You're not what you seem to be, now are you, Logan?"

Wolverine immediately stopped cracking his neck. "How d'ya know my name?" he whispered. Not that it mattered. The crowd had pretty much gone deaf.

The girl stared at him with her intense black eyes. "Let's just say, I know a lot of things." She stopped her stare and gave him an innocent smile. "Now, let's get goin' on fighting."

"Fine by me." Wolverine went into a fighting stance. He made a quick mental note to not reveal his identity (by way of his adamantium claws).

The bell rang and the announcer yelled, "Let the match begin!"

Wolverine had watched her fighting stance carefully. He didn't charge up after her, but instead waited for her.

The girl sensed this and gave a grin. She charged up towards him.

Wolverine got ready to jump – her technique.

She jumped first, which wasn't what Wolverine had expected.

Wolverine soon found himself sprawled on the floor, the Egypt's Girl behind him. She gave a small chuckle.__

_That girl can sure land a punch_, Wolverine thought to himself. Luckily, his healing mutant abilities were kicking in, and he quickly got up. He quickly sniffed the air to figure out her location before he turned around and threw a swift punch.

His fist came in contact with her right cheek. She fell backwards, rubbing her cheek. She dropped her hand as she slowly got up, and Wolverine noticed a small trickle of blood on the corner of her mouth.

The girl gave a glance at him and grinned. "Not bad." She then lunged at him. Her fist knocked the wind straight out of his stomach and he backed away. Wolverine charged again.

For some time, they repeated this routine over and over. Wolverine attacking, then Egypt's Girl.

"When do you think that they will stop?" Nightcrawler whispered to Storm. His German accent was thick and soothing.

"I couldn't tell you, Kurt," Storm replied. "Neither of them seem to be tired just yet."

Rogue was getting impatient. She turned towards Bobby. "He's got to stop."

"Rogue," Bobby started, "you know him. This is his fight. Besides, I think he's got a good chance against that girl."

Rogue just shook her head slowly, staring at her boyfriend. "No. There's something about that girl that scares me."

As she said this, Wolverine pinned the girl down onto the floor. He was breathing hard.

So was the girl. She gave a smile and whispered. "You're pretty good." She turned her head to be able to meet eye-to-eye with the mutant. "Considering you're not using the extraordinary metal in you."

Wolverine's heart stopped for a split second. "What did you say?!"

That split second was all she needed. In moments, she had gotten out of his grip and had pinned him down to the floor, his hands in back of him, gripped by the girl's hands.

The girl grinned and knelt down to whisper in his ear so that the announcer didn't hear a single word (not that he was listening).

"I wanna end this, now, 'kay, Wolverine?"

"In your dreams," Wolverine hissed back. He squirmed as he tried to get out of her rather strong grip.

"Suit yourself." At this she let go of him.

He immediately jumped upwards and tried to grab her. She was too fast. In an instant, she had jumped onto his back and had gripped his neck, almost as if she was squeezing the life out of him. It sure looked like it.

All of a sudden, a strange feeling came into Wolverine. It freaked him out. It was as if a dark hole had entered into him and was sucking the life out of him. He choked and tried to yell for help, but no sound came out. He was being drained. He couldn't feel a single thing. An icy feeling had surfaced onto his insides. He saw himself falling to the floor, but couldn't do anything.

Then everything went black and quiet…


	4. The Revealing

**Chapter 4: The Revealing**

By: Galadeidre

"Logan! Logan, wake up. Logan!"

Wolverine slowly came back to consciousness. He groaned slightly and turned his head, feeling something cold and hard – a countertop. It took him a while before he realized where he was. He slowly lifted his head and looked groggily at the other Xmen. They were seated at the countertop of the bar that housed the ring floor. The whole crowd was gone. It was quiet.

Rogue was staring wide-eyed at him, the others behind her. A gloved hand had been placed on his arm. "Are you all right, Logan?" she repeated.

"Yeah," Wolverine gave a few hard blinks and slowly shook his head. "What happened?"

"You tell us," Cyclops replied. "All we saw was you choking and then falling."

"Was it that girl?" Storms asked. "She looked like she was choking the life out of you."

Wolverine thought back to his match. He slowly started to answer. "No. She wasn't really choking me. Her grip was weak. Real weak. It was as if the whole of me was being sucked out or something."

"Like what I can do?" It was a more of a statement than a question, but Rogue said it so softly that it was hard to tell.

Before Wolverine could respond, he smelt her behind him and scowled. He turned around.

The girl stared at him with her ever-secretive black eyes. "Well, I see our strongman has awakened." She walked a few feet from them and sat on a stool several seats away from the Xmen.

"I don't trust her," Scott muttered to the others.

"Trust is something I believe both sides would hope to have, good and bad." Nightcrawler stared at the girl. " I don't believe that she is bad."

"I think all of us would hope that," Cyclops muttered.

The bartender, a young, rather good-looking sandy-haired boy of about twenty, walked up to the girl and gave a smile. He rested his chin in his hand, which he had placed on the countertop. "Hey, beautiful."

The girl had been staring into outer space, in deep thought. She had swiftly shifted her eyes as she saw him near her, but hadn't moved any other part of her body. Now, as he addressed her, she slowly shifted a bit and glanced at him. "Trevor, right?"

The cute bartender grinned, showing a dimple. "You got it, muffin." He leaned forward a bit more. "How about if I buy you a drink. On me."

The girl smirked. "Well, if it's on you, then fine. What do you have?"

"We've got some alcoholic beverages that I'm sure you'd enjoy." He smiled again. "And some water."

"I'll have the water."

"Oh, no alcohol?"

"Do I look like an alcoholic?"

""You look like you could use some."

"Well, I don't."

"C'mon. One drink aint gonna hurt ya."

The girl glared at him. "I've been visitin' this pub for quite some time now, Trevor. I think by now, you'd know I don't drink."

"I know that, but it's worth a try." He gave a shrug and smiled.

In a flash, the girl had grabbed him by the shirt collar and pulled him towards her. Trevor knocked several small glasses to the floor as this was done.

"I said I only wanted water." She said it softly and with such a level tone, yet there was a hidden order of coldness in it that made the onlookers shiver.

Trevor laughed uneasily. "All right, all right, babe. You got it. One glass of water comin' up."

The girl let him go. "About time. Oh, and don't bother paying for it. Here. Keep the change." She placed a few dollar bills on the table and returned to her outerspace look. It was as if she had never reached the way she had, what with her sudden abruptness in her change of moods.

Trevor swiftly handed her the glass of ice-cold water and went on with his bartending business. As he passed the Xmen, Wolverine grabbed him by the arm. Trevor looked up at him.

"Hey, kid, you know that girl's name?" Wolverine asked.

Trevor shrugged and shook his head. "Not a clue. She just comes in every now and then and just sits around. The babe's gotta live somewhere near hear, I guess, but I never see her elsewhere in this city. No one else has either. Why do you wanna know?"

"Just curious. Is there a problem with that?"

"Uh, no. No, there's no problem." Trevor sputtered.

"Good," Wolverine growled. "Now get going." He let go of the boy's arm.

Trevor went back to his work, but not before he stared at Nightcrawler for a few seconds. The blue mutant had pulled up his coat collar and pulled down his hat to hide his identity. Trevor soon gave up on looking around the coat and hat and went back to his work.

The girl had slowly been drinking her water as she stared at the clock in front of her. As soon as it turned 9:30, she got up.

"Thanks for the water, Trevor." With that said, she walked out of the bar.

Cyclops glanced at the rest of the Xmen and gave a slight nod. They all stood up and walked out to follow her.

The night was quiet. Not many people were outside. Soft flurries of snow were falling down as they searched for the girl.

"Logan, can you smell her?" Cyclops whispered.

Wolverine sniffed as he kept his eyes open for signs of her. He turned slightly to the right. "I don't smell her…but I see her."

All the other Xmen turned to where Wolverine was looking. Sure enough, they could see the figure getting smaller and smaller in the distance. She disappeared behind a tree, and Cyclops led the way towards her.

"She couldn't have gotten that far that fast," Bobby observed quietly.

"True," Cyclops muttered. He noticed a sleek, black car going in the direction that the girl had gone. "Unless she was a mutant. Kurt."

"Consider it done," Nightcrawler bounded in front of Cyclops and disappeared in a cloud of blue smoke.

He landed on a branch of the tree the girl had disappeared behind. She was a few feet away from the tree. The car had stopped in front of her, and there were several rich-looking men coming out. Nightcrawler took note of them and then vanished once again. He reappeared in front of Storm.

"What did you see?" Cyclops asked.

"There are people there. Men. That's all I saw. I couldn't hear anything that they were saying."

"C'mon, then. Let's check it out." Cyclops headed on.

When they reached the nearest tree they hid behind it and sneaked a look around it.

There were several men, all in long black overcoats. They were arranged in a semi-circle of sorts. One man, obviously the head of the group, stood in front of them. He wore a large, golden-brown coat with fur lining the sleeves, collar, and bottom. His dark brown hair had been neatly combed and parted to the side. He wore shades on his white-skinned face. He was walking closer to the girl as he took off his shades, revealing eyes of a cool blue color.

"My sweet child of the ice cold sea! Fancy meeting you in a place like this." He spoke with a rich-like tone in his voice. It was plain, clear English.

"Fancy _seeing_ you here in a place like this," the girl muttered. "This aint a mere coincidence, that I'm sure of. What do you want?"

The man stopped and gave a mocking look of shock. "Can't a man search and greet his favorite woman?"

"You heard the question, Morrey. Answer it."

The man, now known as Morrey, started to walk closer to her until he was only a few inches away. "You know what I want."

"Well, ya aint gonna get it, then."

"We'll see in the nearby future." His eyes had a message clearly stated in them.

The girl narrowed her eyes. "How near is that future?" she slowly asked.

"Oh, very near…" He took one quick glance at one of his larger men. The man stepped towards her, a device in his hand. The girl eyed it suspiciously, but didn't move. He gave it to Morrey, who took it. With one swift swipe, the device was placed on the girl's neck and she fell back, gasping for air.

Morrey smiled. "I have to tell you. When I came across this little device here, I was quite…intrigued to try it on someone – a specific someone."

The girl had clutched her neck and fallen on her knees. She was hacking up blood.

"Would you like to know what this little device is?" He crouched down near her. "It's a type of electronic device that will send an electric pulse through the skin and crush your tissue, making you bleed internally."

The girl kept hacking, but she looked at him with complete disgust. Blood was gushing out of her mouth and down her chin like a fountain. The snow in front of her had been stained red.

Morrey took his gloved hand and lifted her chin. "And you know the best part about it? When they analyze that you're a mutant, the pulse is twenty-five times worse. It could kill you." He laughed.

As he watched this whole scene, Wolverine caught a different scent. His head jerked upwards and he sniffed.

"Logan?" Rogue whispered.

"There's others here…" Wolverine muttered.

The girl had started to stop hacking. She gave a forced smile as she coughed up the words, "Dumb…retard…"

Morrey stopped laughing. "What do you mean by that, angel?"

A small card flew out of nowhere. It landed right in front of the girl face up – Ace of Spades.

The girl smiled and took the card between her fingers. "I meant this." She flicked the card at the device and sliced it in two. One half of it fell to the ground. Morrey backed away and swore as the card flew back into the girl's hands. The guards lunged towards her, preparing to attack. The girl spotted them. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Another card flew down. Ace of Clubs. It expanded until it was larger than five of the men combined and wrapped them up, squeezing them and rendering them unconscious.

"Did she do all that?" Cyclops asked.

As if to answer his question, a giggle from a little child was heard. Across from where the Xmen were looking, a little girl with a head of soft, curly brown hair stood several feet away from the cluster of people. She was bundled up in a scarf, coat, hat, and mittens. Her hand held a deck of cards.

Morrey smirked. "Having your little bratty sister do all the work for you, eh, angel?" When she didn't answer, Morrey turned around back towards the little child. He pulled out a strange-looking gun. "Then I'll just have to get rid of her." He aimed.

The little girl realized what was going on, but just stood there petrified.

"Bye, pumpkin," Morrey muttered.

He pulled the trigger – but not before a loud roar was heard and his arm had been pushed away from his target. The bullet – actually a killer laser beam – shot off several branches of a few of the trees.

Morrey fell to the ground, along with his attacker. The attacker was another girl, this one with short, dark blonde, almost brown hair. Her eyes blazed a bright yellow-green. "Don't you dare call her bratty." Her voice was growl. It, too, had a southern accent. She howled, sending chills down the men's spines. "I'll kill you." She lifted up a hand, ready to strike.

"WAIT!"

The blonde girl turned around as the little one ran up beside her. Egypt's Girl, the first girl, had stood up. She had stopped hacking and was walking towards the other two girls. The men that hadn't been wrapped in the expanding card were charging forward. The black-haired girl turned her head towards them and scowled.

"I said that's enough." She held up her hand. An invisible force pounded into the men, making them fly several feet away. She turned back towards Morrey and held out the same hand. She lifted her hand upwards in one silent move. Morrey started to float up into the sky.

Morrey yelled for help, and continued his cries.

"Shut him up, will ya, hon?" Egypt's Girl said.

The little girl pulled out another card, the Five of Diamonds, and threw it upwards. It plastered onto his mouth, muffling his cries immediately.

Egypt's Girl called up to him. "Aint it a nice view, up there?" She grinned. "Y'know, Morrey. That device of yours did nothin' to me. You just wasted ten minutes trying to kill me, and you still didn't succeed."

Morrey tried to pry off the card, but to no avail.

Egypt's Girl smiled again. "I'd have killed you like what my sister, here, had in mind, but I'm not that cruel." She waved her hand. Morrey fell to the ground. "Now, get out. I don't wanna ever see you're hideous face again." Morrey did as he was told. He and his men raced to the car (after the little girl had 'unwrapped' them) and sped off.

"Yes!" The little girl jumped for joy and gave a high-five to the blonde.

"We won again!" the blonde exclaimed.

They suddenly were both grabbed on the back of their coats by Egypt's Girl. "And why the heck are you two out here?"

"Oh, cut us some slack, sis. We were comin' out to look for you," the blonde replied.

"And leave Lex?"

"I had the wolves guard the house," the blonde answered again.

The black-haired girl sighed and rolled her eyes. She let them go. "C'mon, then. Let's get on home."

The blonde and brown-haired girls ran on ahead. Egypt's Girl followed.

She had only taken a few steps forward when she stopped. She turned around, scanned the area, and gave a smile. "Mutants…" She walked off.


	5. No Answers

A/N: All right…I'll only do a few author's notes scattered here and there, cuz I know it's not me that you want to read about. So…just keep reviewin' my story, kay? Please? You guys confused yet with my story? Yeah, I know, there's a lot of characters being introduced and there's not enough action…the action shall arrive (monotonous sound…like your meditating). You all probably have figured out by now that the 3 mutants they're looking for are those 3, but why them? It shall all be revealed to you as the story enfolds…(more meditation)…

**Chapter 5: No Answers**

By: Galadeidre

Cyclops beckoned for the others to come out of their hiding spots the minute Egypt's Girl disappeared from view. "Logan, can you make out a scent?"

Wolverine sniffed. "Yeah. On the younger two. That black-haired one can mask her scent real well."

"We only need one, so it's good enough," Cyclops replied. "You lead, Logan." Wolverine did as he was asked and went down into the forest.

"Y'know," Bobby asked. "Couldn't we just look at the trail of footprints they left behind?"

The team stopped abruptly and Wolverine pointed downwards. "There's your answer, kid."

The three pairs of footprints could be seen going through the snow. It abruptly stopped.

"She's much smarter than we anticipated, Scott," Storms spoke up.

"Yeah, I can tell." He shoved his hands in his coat pockets. "Looks like it's all up to you, Logan."

"Wonderful," he muttered sarcastically. They trudged onwards.

It took them about an hour before they saw footprints again.

Cyclops grinned. "She must have underestimated us."

"Or she wanted us to follow them on purpose," Storm argued.

"Well, whatever the reason is, let's get going," Cyclops replied as they started to follow the footprints.

* * *

A wolf howled.

Another began.

The blonde looked through the window and growled.

The little girl, who was playing on the floor with her cards while she ate a slice of warm apple pie, looked up questioningly at the blonde. Her brown curls bounced playfully as she turned her head. "What are they saying?"

The blonde didn't answer right away. Instead, she flopped down on the couch and let out a breath. "Dang. They're good."

"Sis told you so, but you insisted to walk on foot," the little girl teased. The blonde threw a pillow at her.

"Well," the blonde started, "Let's see how they fare against animals." She stood up, took a deep breath, and howled.

* * *

A wolf howled – much closer this time.

Rogue gripped onto Bobby's arm in fear. Bobby wasn't much better.

Nightcrawler noticed them and whispered to Storm. "I do not think that this was such the wisest choice. Maybe we should turn back."

"No need," Storm replied looking straight ahead. "We're almost there."

In the distance, they could just barely make out a small, quaint little cottage. A wisp of smoke flowed from the chimney and the lights were seen lit through the drawn curtains.

"Let's go!" Wolverine barked and broke into a run.

"Logan! Wait up!" Cyclops called after him.

No sooner had Cyclops said those words than when a great mass attacked Wolverine from the side. It pinned the mutant down into the snow and growled – a wolf.

The wolf howled.

In a few moments, they heard several more growls. A whole wolf pack had come – and they looked hungry.

"Maybe we should have turned back," Storm muttered quietly.

"Bobby…" Rogue whispered in fear. She glanced over at Logan who lay unconscious, face-down in the snow. "Logan, please. Get up. Please."

The wolves ran towards them, baring their teeth.

"Scott, we can't kill them," Storm said as she spotted Cyclops lifting his hand to his visor.

"Then what are we going to do, Storm!" Cyclops retorted. A wolf was running at him, only a few feet away.

Wolverine knocked it out of the way as it jumped in the air. "We defend ourselves, one-eye. We defend."

"Let's do it, then. Storm. Give us something in our favor."

"Hang on, then." Storm's eyes turned white and a huge gust spread across the forest, pushing the wolves away.

The wolves were persistent. They pushed against the wind.

"Bobby, the snow!" Cyclops called over the howl of the wind.

Bobby nodded and knelt down. As he touched the snow, it turned to pure ice (except for where the Xmen stood). The wolves went sliding everywhere.

The leader of the pack seemed stubborn, though. It charged forward and jumped towards Wolverine.

In one quick swipe, Wolverine had injured the wolf just enough to make it whimper and run off with the rest of the pack.

Wolverine spat on the ground. "Now that was easy."

"Almost too easy." Storms commented.

"You're right." Cyclops replied. "They might have just been putting us to the test."

"What test?" Wolverine asked.

"That's what we'll have to ask them." Cyclops muttered. "C'mon. We're almost there."

They quickly ran through the snow and onto the cottage porch. When Cyclops didn't see a doorbell, he knocked.

No answer.

He knocked again.

No answer.

On his third knock, the door slowly opened. The little girl they had seen with the deck of cards looked up at them with her deep brown eyes.

Storm bent forward. "Hello, sweetie. My name is Storm. We'd like to talk to your sister."

The little girl shook her head slowly. "I don't let strangers in. Not even mutants."

This shocked the Xmen.

"Hey, how did you know we were mutants?" Cyclops asked.

"Just because," she said simply. "You couldn't have been regular people if you passed the Wolves."

_So it was a test,_ All of them thought.

"Well, we'd like to be your friends," Storm continued. "May we?"

The little girl shifted uneasily.

"Let 'em in, Squirt," a voice replied from inside. The blonde appeared beside the little girl. "We've been expecting you." She opened the door wider and stepped to the side to let them in. "You can follow my little sister to the living room. Please. Make yourselves comfortable." With that, she walked away and through a doorway.

They did as they were told and followed the little girl, who skipped happily into the living room, her curls flying.

"Y'all can sit down if you want," she replied innocently. She plopped down onto the floor and watched as they sat. They became silent for a moment.

The little girl suddenly jumped up. She walked over to where Storm and Nightcrawler were sitting. "Would ya'll like somethin' to drink?"

"Oh, if it's all right," Storm said sweetly. "What do you have?"

The little girl thought for a moment. "I can make hot chocolate. My sisters say that it's the best they've ever tasted."

"Well, I'd love to try some. Wouldn't all of us enjoy her hot chocolate?" Storm gazed at the others. They all nodded in reply.

"All right then. Hot chocolate coming right up." She skipped out of the living room, the deck of cards in her hands.

Storm smiled. "She's such a cute girl."

"Something tells me, though, that she is sad. They all seem to be, yet they seem angry or…or I don't know how to put it. It's not really brave, yet it's not quite anger." Nightcrawler shook his head in confusion and sighed.

Rogue was walking around, admiring the cute living room. A fire was burning cheerfully in the fireplace. The fireplace was made of black tiled marble. The wooden, polished mantle held a few ornaments. There were small statues of wolves and fiery creatures – phoenixes. There were also a few woodcarvings that had been slightly sanded to smoothen out the razor sharp edges. On one end, a stack of old cards had been laid face down except for the top card. It showed the Ace of Diamonds.

Rogue looked around some more. The lights from the lamps and ceiling cast a warm, yellow glow around the room. The wooden floor of the room had been waxed and stained. Several intricate-looking rugs were covering the floor. The dark red sofas had been placed around the fireplace. A rocking chair was on one side of the fireplace. A stool was on the other end. A few quilts and throws had been organized onto the couches. A small glass table had been placed in the center of the sofas and fireplace. On the table border, there was, in a golden stencil, an elaborate design of leaves, vines, clovers, phoenixes, and wolves. There was an empty plate with a small fork on the table. Small crumbs could still be seen on the plate.

The walls were covered with a rich-looking wallpaper. It ran vertically and had a red-orange color with thick golden stripes running down with about a foot between each. The same golden stencil design that was on the tale ran down alongside each of the stripes, but instead of just having phoenixes and wolves, it had all sorts of different animals, mythical and real.

Rogue traced her hand down the design. Suddenly, something popped into her head. "Whoa."

"What?" Wolverine asked. He and Bobby had been watching her.

"I just noticed something." She sat down beside Bobby. "They seem like a real rich family, but I wonder why they don't have any large portraits or pictures of them and their folks."

"Hmm. That is kinda weird," Cyclops realized.

Before they were able to dwell on the subject any longer, the little girl reappeared carrying two trays, one on each hand.

Storm stood up to help her. "Thank you, sweetheart. My, that was really fast."

"It's easy to make," she said with a shrug.

Cyclops frowned. _That was a little too fast. She's more a mutan than a magician with card trickst._ As he looked at the others, he could tell they were thinking the same thing.

Storm passed out the mugs. As she sat down, she asked, "So where's your sister?"

"She'll be right here." The little girl didn't look at her as she spoke and kept playing with her cards.

Silence.

Several minutes passed.

Several more.

Wolverine was getting impatient. He chugged down the rest of his chocolate and walked over to the little girl. "Kid, we can't stay here all day."

"Nobody's telling you to stay." She looked up with her bright brown eyes. "Ya'll can leave if you wanna. We aint gonna stop ya'll."

Wolverine growled. He walked over to her and crouched down so that they were eye to eye. "You'd better tell us where she is, kid…or I won't go easy on you."

"Logan…" Cyclops warned.

Wolverine ignored him. He pulled out his claws, which the little girl eyed warily. "You wouldn't use those on me."

"Wanna bet?" Wolverine growled. But before he was able to strike, something slashed at him first.

It was the blonde. She dug her nails on both of his cheeks and dragged them through his skin. Wolverine gasped with pain. Her nails were razor sharp and had left three clean 1-inch scabs of ripped skin on both sides of his face. He was gushing out blood like a downpour.

In seconds, Cyclops and the others were up and preparing to strike. The little girl scooted out of the way.

The blonde and Wolverine were having an all-out slashing battle. The scratch marks on Wolverine's cheeks were starting to heal and the blonde noticed it. She lunged forward and punched both her fists into Wolverine's stomach, biting his shoulder as she did so. Wolverine screamed in agony as he felt his skin on his shoulder get ripped off and backed away, clutching his shoulder.

The blonde spat out the skin that she had ripped. "You taste nasty." She lunged forward and caught him off guard. "But you deserve it, considering that no one EVER threatens our sister." She snarled and scratched his face in the same exact spots as before. It started to gush out blood again.

"Everybody, get down!" Cyclops screamed as he shot out his laser. It hit the blonde square in the stomach, sending her flying backwards into the wall. She choked as blood trickled down both the corners of her mouth. It didn't knock her out, though. She growled and jumped at Wolverine who had gotten up again.

Suddenly, everything stopped. The blonde was stuck in thin air in a sort of crouched position with her hands up above her head and her knees bent in front of her. Cyclops's mutant abilities seemed to have disappeared, for he couldn't shoot his laser beams out of his eyes. Wolverine was stuck in his tracks just like the blonde.

"Um, what just happened here?" Bobby whispered.

As if to answer, the blonde howled and glared at the newcomer by the door.

Egypt's Girl was standing in the doorway, her right hand extended outward and her left hand carrying a baby boy who was wide-awake and sucking his thumb. She scowled and glared at each mutant with her secretive black eyes. "What the heck is going on here?"

"Nothing that wouldn't have happened sooner or later," came the arrogant remark from the blonde.

"But could still have been prevented."

The blonde scowled. "Can you let me go, now? I really don't like bein' up here."

Egypt's Girl didn't answer. She turned her attention towards Wolverine. "Logan, next time, pick a fight with someone your own size."

Wolverine growled. "It's about time you showed up."

"Can't you see I have some other priorities to attend to?" She gave a quick glance towards the little boy in her arms.

"Moo…tahns!" the little boy exclaimed as he gazed at the Xmen. He had a mass of black curls and extraordinary bright green eyes that seemed too big for his little chubby brown face. He noticed the blonde and gave a baby laugh. "Siwwy!" He looked at Egypt's Girl. "I wan downy! Downy!" He fidgeted some more before she let him down. He immediately crawled over to where Storm was standing. "Moo…tahns!" He pointed up towards her and then to Wolverine's claws. "Big cwaws!"

Egypt's Girl gave a smirk and swiftly waved her hand. Immediately, the paralyzing sensation was over and Wolverine tripped as he regained his balance, reinserting his claws back into his knuckles. The blonde landed on the ground like a cat, obviously used to being suspended in mid-air.

Storm stared down at the baby child. "Uppy! Uppy!" It lifted its cute chubby arms up towards Storm. Storm hesitated and looked at Egypt's Girl. She nodded and Storm picked the baby up. It squealed in delight and started to tug on her white hair. Storm smiled. "I see he loves people."

"Not really," the black-haired girl replied as she walked into the room, her arms crossed. "He can sense that you guys are all right people."

"And what do you sense about us?" Cyclops asked as he and the other Xmen sat down. The blonde scowled and leaned on the wall farthest to Wolverine. The little curly-haired girl had sat on the stool by the fire.

The black-haired girl stared at them with her ever-penetrating stare. "You're trustworthy all right, but I don't trust anybody anymore."

"Why not?"

"I just don't. Where Charles got the idea of sending ya'll here, I don't know. He knows better than to ask people to barge into our lives."

This shocked the Xmen. "You know Professor Xavier!" Cyclops asked.

"Yeah, I know him. A pretty good telepath if I have anythin' to say about it. Too bad he's stuck in a wheelchair."

"But how do you know him?" Cyclops asked.

She gave him a glare with her black abyss eyes once more. "That's for us to know, and if ya'll don't mind, I think it's about time ya'll leave." She stood up. "Unless you have somethin' else to ask us."

Cyclops didn't know how to quite react. "Well, I have to ask you this. Are you mutants?"

The girl rolled her eyes. "What do ya think we've been showin' ya the past hour here?" She nodded at the other two girls. "Squirt, here, doesn't just have a magic deck for nothin' and my other sister here doesn't bite people just for the fun of it. And I don't have any invisible wires or somethin' attached to the ceilings to make ya'll levitate."

"True," Cyclops muttered. "But we came to ask for your help."

She gave out a cruel laugh that shocked the little boy. "Haven't any of ya been listenin'? I already know why Charles sent ya'll here. It's 'cause he needs help with Magneto whenever the heck he shows his ugly face. And our answer to that is no."

"But we really could use mutants with your power on our side," Storm spoke up as she let the little boy go. "We mustn't let Magneto destroy the humans. It's not right." Nightcrawler nodded his head in agreement.

"Look. It's not like we've made some kind of peace treaty with Magneto or anythin'. It's just we don't want to fight if it doesn't pertain to us. I hate Magneto as much as you all do."

"So we could work together, then," Cyclops urged.

This really ticked off the girl. Her eyes went blacker (if that were possible) and she furrowed her brows in annoyance. "When I say no, Scott Summers, I mean no." Something flashed through her eyes and the Xmen were immediately floating in the air. Suddenly, a huge transparent sphere of some sort entrapped them all as they floated up closer to the ceiling. "And I think it's time that ya'll went back home." She lifted her arm and closed it into a fist.

The sphere vanished.

The Xmen were gone.

The black-haired girl slumped down into the sofa and lifted the little boy onto her lap. The other two girls seemed to not be worried about what had just previously happened. The little girl got off the stool and started to clean up the empty mugs. The blonde stayed on the wall for a moment longer and then walked to sit beside Egypt's Girl.

"Why don't you want to help them, sis? We owe Xavier that much at least." Her Southern accent was suddenly gone. They were both playing with the little boy who was very amused with the palms of their hands. He didn't seem to be surprised at the sudden disappearance of six people right in front of him either.

The blonde's elder sister sighed and looked at her.

"Because…I'm not ready."

* * *

A/N: Confused now? Yeah, I know. But it will be cleared up eventually as I've said before. Time to make the sixth chapter of Phoenix Days! Please, review! Pretty please? 


	6. Reincarnation Siblings

**Chapter 6: Reincarnation Siblings**

By: Galadeidre

They felt like they were swimming against a current, yet floating at the same time. They were trapped, yet all they saw was white empty space. _Are we dead?_ They all thought.

No, they weren't.

Reality crashed around them as abruptly as it had disappeared. They seemed to have been dropped from the sky for they all fell, piled up in a heap – right in front of Xavier.

Xavier looked at them in complete surprise. He was sitting in the comfy living room beside the fire with a book in his hands. A blanket had been tucked around his legs in the wheelchair.

"Well, good evening. My, that was quite – unexpected."

"You're telling us," Wolverine grunted as he untangled himself from the others. Nightcrawler teleported out of the pile, sending Rogue sprawling on top of Cyclops. Cyclops gave a slight wince as the impact went crashing through his ribcage.

Charles nodded. "And I presume that they refused?"

Wolverine scowled. "You didn't say that they'd be that stubborn."

"And vague," Storm piped up. "I don't believe I even caught their names."

Charles nodded as if this was no surprise – which it really wasn't. "They've been taught to use stealth and secrecy in their lives. From what it looks like, their parents taught them well."

"Their parents?" Storm asked. "We didn't see anybody else there."

"I didn't smell anyone else, either," Wolverine said. "Unless they're like that girl who could hide her scent."

"No. That scent hiding is a mutant ability that neither of her parents acquired," Xavier explained.

"Then where do you think they were?" Nightcrawler asked.

"I don't know." His face was of a downcast expression, which confused the others.

"Well, back to the names," Wolverine said. He fell back into the couch behind him and crossed his arms. "You didn't tell us before, and they didn't say anything. You mind giving us some background info on them?"

Charles nodded and sat back in his chair placing his elbows on the armrests and putting his fingertips together.

"I won't tell you all I know. Just enough, so as to keep their secrecy still. I'll start with the youngest." He glanced at Storm.

"It was a boy," Storm spoke up. "At the most, I'd say three years old. Still a baby."

"Yes. I've never seen the child. Last I saw them was about five years ago. I had been informed when he was born. I never heard from them again, though.

The little boy's name is Alexander, or Lex for short. Since I've never seen him or witnessed his abilities, I can't tell you much about the child."

"You mean that kid has mutant powers already?!" Wolverine asked incredulous. "He seems too young yet."

Xavier shook his head. "Believe it or not, Logan, mutant abilities can appear at a very young age. It's even hereditary at times, but no more talk on that subject. Who's the next youngest?"

"A little girl. She was a sweet child. Had brown curls and brown eyes," Storm responded.

"Ah, yes." Xavier leaned back in his chair and smiled. "The sweet angel of the four. I think she'll grow up to be quite the charmer of men. Just like their eldest sibling…but probably not so…'hard to get'." He chuckled at the thought.

Wolverine scowled impatiently. "And her mutant powers are?"

"It pertains to the deck that she carries with her, although she can manipulate any deck for her own uses. I'm sure, though, that you've already noticed her deck. Her powers within those cards vary. Even I don't know what they quite are. Her cards also serve as a small insight of what is to come."

"Something like fortune telling?" Cyclops asked.

"Yes, but they don't like to consider it fortune telling. When the cards are manipulated, they have a tendency to have a life of their own as it seems."

"So, without her deck," Cyclops asked, "she'd be vulnerable?"

"Don't underestimate them, Scott," Charles warned. "They've been trained in all kinds of ways."

"You didn't tell us her name, Professor," Storm replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's Anastasia, but she is preferably called Ana."

"So Alexander and Anastasia, or Lex and Ana," Wolverine muttered. "Who's the blonde punk? Anger Management?" He said this with a tense coldness in his voice.

Xavier gave a smile at the insult. "I'm surprised you hate her so much, considering that she's exactly like you…or is that the reason?"

Wolverine didn't respond.

Professor gave another smile and continued. "Her name is Elizabeth, or Liz. She's a werewolf."

"You mean she was bit by a wolf?" Bobby asked suddenly. He had been thinking about the mutants and their powers, therefore explaining his silence until then. Rogue looked up at Charles with a look of surprise on her face.

"Actually, no," Xavier answered. "It was actually her great-grandparents that were bitten by wolves. The blood of a werewolf has been passed down through the generations. It finally showed itself through her."

"And what about the last girl?" Nightcrawler spoke from his squatting position on the mantle. "She called herself Egypt's Girl. Is that similar to her real name?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." Xavier answered, slightly amused. "She's called Cleo, short for Cleopatra."

"And what of her powers?"

Xavier gave an uneasy sigh. "That's hard to say. If you would like it bluntly, she's a mutant of variability."

"Meaning she can do anything?" Cyclops asked. Bobby gave a low whistle.

Xavier nodded. "Pretty much so. To a point, of course. She's not immortal or invincible, but her powers are beyond extraordinary. That's one reason she tries keeping a low profile."

"Maybe that's why she has so many secrets," Rogue spoke quietly. Xavier looked at her. "I…I caught her eye and…and looking at them made me feel so…I don't know. So…cold and…sad. It was like she had this huge burden on her."

Charles nodded gravely. "Yes, that girl has always been the one with all the trials and troubles. She's still a young woman, but has already had many troublesome experiences that have made her old beyond her years. Not that I'm saying that she has become a nagging woman, but she rarely smiles a smile that's truly happy. Her mutant powers have put a strain on her. You'd be surprised how many try to get a hold of her abilities. Unbelievable."

"But we saw her grin a lot as she fought," Bobby argued.

"Yes, but did her eyes tell a different story?" Bobby fell silent at this.

Storm was deep in thought of something else that had come to her mind. "Alexander…Anastasia…Elizabeth…Cleopatra…Professor, is there a message behind their names?"

Charles smiled playfully. "Ah, you've realized it. Well, this may be just gossip or it may be real, but friends of the children's parents thought that they may be reincarnates of several famous people in history. Some believed it to be true, others just said that their parents just wanted to name them those names. Nevertheless, the tale stuck and their parents gave them a nickname, or a code name if you will, just in case something went wrong."

"And what was it?" Wolverine asked.

"It was simply…the Reincarnations."


	7. Change of Plans

**Chapter 7: Change of Plans**

By: Galadeidre

The young man stumbled breathlessly into the dimly lit dining room, where one very old gentleman sat at the end of the table, eating dinner and surrounded by platters of delicious meals.

The old man looked up. "Nathan Morrey. So good to see you once more. How is life treating you?" He said it so playfully that it was almost impossible to detect the coldness and ferocity behind it.

Morrey panted a bit more before he spoke. "I did what you told me to do. I found them." He saw the old man's gaze and gave a whimper as he fell to his knees. "I really did, Magneto, sir, but…but I couldn't bring them here!"

Magneto narrowed his eyes and placed his utensils down. "I thought you said you had everything under control. You told me that your new… 'device' was going to do a clean job of completing my orders for you."

"I… I…" Morrey stammered. "I… well… it was supposed to…"

Magneto scowled in disgust and glanced to his right. Sabertooth and Toad stepped forward. They each took one of Morrey's arms and started to drag him away.

"Magneto, please! Please! I'm begging you, Magneto!"

Magneto thought for a moment and then called, "Wait!" He walked towards the threesome and stared at the human for a moment before asking, "Did you find out where they lived?"

"Um… yes, I did," Morrey answered rather rapidly. "I was able to put a tracker on Liz while she was attacking me. They live in a cottage in the woods about… about 2 miles from Lauglin City. You're bound to find them. They're the only ones living out there that I know of."

"Excellent. Well done, Morrey. You have redeemed yourself and shall be rewarded. Toad. Sabertooth. Bring him to his…reward."

The two mutants obeyed and dragged him out the door. Mystique appeared beside Magneto and behind her, Pyro.

"Mystique," Magneto said as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and chest. "Tell Nathan's boys that their leader is a bit… indisposed of. He may not come back for a while." She nodded her head and left through the same door the other three had gone through, smiling in her sly way as she left.

A sickening scream cut through the air.

A huge squelch followed afterwards.

Sabertooth and Toad returned. There were blood spatter on both of their fronts. Toad was sampling the blood on his hands with his tongue.

Magneto sighed and shook his head. "Humans."

"He was weak," Pyro spoke. "Why'd you send him to find those siblings?"

"Because, dear boy," Magneto started, "he knew them from many years back. Besides, I didn't want to lose my fellow mutants." He gave him a smile.

"But why do you want them dead?" The young boy sat on the table with one foot on the nearest chair. He was playing with a lighter as he spoke. "I mean, if they're that strong, don't you want them on our side?"

Magneto gave him another smile. "They know too much and would never go to our side…especially with me leading."

Pyro looked at him questioningly.

Magneto walked over to Pyro. "Let's just say they don't think too…fondly of me." He took Pyro's lighter and looked at it." At least the girls don't. Little Alexander is a different story, though." His eyes gleamed and he flicked open the lighter. "Which brings me to my latest idea…"

* * *

She trudged forward through the snow. Her breath was heavy and it floated upwards into the sky. She didn't care. She was filled with warm heat all over, head to toe. She was like a volcano ready to explode…

…yet…

…she was calm and relaxed… she felt wise beyond her years, and she also felt…

…sad…

She felt as if she had lost everything. She looked up to the bleak mid-wintry sky, confused and bewildered…

* * *

Cleo shot her head up as she sensed the strong emotions in her mind. She paused for a moment in cleaning the dishes and looked up through the ceiling at the sky.

"C'mon, girl. Where are you?" she whispered. She waited for a few more seconds as if expecting an answer and then went back to cleaning, sighing as she did so.

"Sis! Sis!" Little Ana ran into the kitchen breathless. "There you are. Cleo! C'mon! You should see the snowman I made with my cards. C'mon, Cleo! Come and see it!"

"All right, all right. I'm comin', I'm comin'." She gave a chuckle and wiped her damp hands on the apron she wore. She pulled down the sleeves of her sweatshirt and followed her sister, stopping first in the bedroom that she shared with her baby brother, Lex.

Lex was sleeping soundly on the bed, sucking his thumb. He had pushed the velvet covers off him as he had tossed and turned and Cleo placed them gently back over him. She gave a small smile and quietly ruffled his hair as she kissed him on the forehead.

"Sis, you comin?" Ana was peering from behind the doorpost. Her cheeks were a rosy pink color.

"Yeah." She walked towards Ana and outside into the freshness of the cool morning sky to look at the snowman.

Cleo had to admit it was a fine piece of work. It looked like a regular snowman, except for one thing – it's outfit. Ana had stuck her cards onto the body of the snowman. She had aligned them precisely and stuck them in the snow at an angle that the cards looked like a colorful sweater on the snowman. The top hat of the snowman had also been made of cards.

Liz spotted her sister surveying their artwork. "Well, what do ya think? Best one yet, huh?"

Cleo raised an eyebrow. "It's not so bad." Liz cocked an eyebrow, also. "All right, all right. It looks great."

Liz gave a nod of satisfaction. Ana beamed. "You really like it?"

"'Course, I do." She grabbed Ana into a great big hug and squeezed her tight. She started to tickle her, making Ana laugh with delight. Liz joined the fun.

Their fun, though, didn't last long.

Liz's head shot up as did Cleo's.

"Cleo, somethin' smells funny…" Liz muttered. She was scanning the sky. Ana looked at her elder sisters in confusion.

It was only a few seconds after Liz had spoken. A signal shot through Cleo's head – a warning.

"Down, NOW!" All three immediately dived down to the snow.

In a split-second, a huge stream of flame had shot down at the Reincarnation's cottage and set it ablaze. The windows and shingles flew outwards on the impact, broken to tiny pieces. The whole of the cottage was engulfed in flames, and smoke was rising swiftly upwards. The cottage was quickly falling apart as the inferno steadily grew ever larger and surrounded the cottage. It melted the snow around the cottage and started the trees nearby on fire. The whole forest would soon be on fire if it wasn't stopped.

A thought hit all three of them at once, but it was Liz who was the first to scream.

"LEX!!" She stumbled forward to the burning cottage. "LEX!!!"

Cleo grabbed her around the waist before she passed her and struggled to keep her sister back. "No, Liz!! Get a grip on yourself! We can't lose you, too! LIZ!! NO, LIZ! YOU CAN'T GO IN THERE!"

Liz ignored her and kept on shouting their little brother's name. She tried to pry her sister's arms off her, but to no avail.

"LIZ, LISTEN TO ME!! YOU CAN'T! THERE'S NO POINT IN YOU GOING IN THERE!" She got a hold of her sister's shoulders and started to shake her hard. When that didn't work, she scowled and punched her backwards just hard enough.

Liz fell into the snow breathing heavily. Cleo towered above her, her hands balled into fists.

"It's too late, Liz," she said with a strain behind her voice that hadn't been there before. She quietly cleared her throat and muttered, closing her eyes and looking away. "He…He's gone, Liz. He's gone. There's nothing we can or could have done."

Liz just stared at her. The next moment, she was at a tree pounding her fists into it and clawing it, stripping off the bark. She was screaming and crying, tears streaming down her face in an endless downpour.

Cleo let her do all this. She still had her eyes closed. Her fists, though, were trembling and she was breathing heavily.

Ana slowly walked to her, her bottom lip trembling and her eyes on the verge of tears. "Sis? Is he really…is he…well…" Tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"Yeah," Cleo whispered. She opened her eyes and looked at her baby sister. Her eyes were dry. She gave a sad smile at Ana and held out her arms. Ana walked to her and wrapped her little arms around her neck. All the tears started to fall and she hiccupped uncontrollably.

Cleo lifted her up and gently patted her back. She turned so that Ana wasn't looking at their burning home and she was instead. Her eyes had no signs of tears, but were filled with pure hate and anger.

Magneto… 

She looked at her other sister who had stopped pounding the tree. Liz was leaning against the tree her eyes closed and still crying softly. The tree she had pounded looked battered and frail from all the punches. Ana had tightly clutched the back of Cleo's coat. Cleo took a deep breath – in and out. She knew what she had to do.

"Ana." She set her little sister down. Liz, at the sound of her sister's voice, opened her eyes and looked up. Ana had stopped crying, but was still sniffling. They both knew Cleo well. The tone of voice that she had just used was of complete and utter control – smooth, evenly-measured, and slightly lower in pitch. Both were listening to her every word, though they knew it wouldn't be many, but was nonetheless important.

"Get your deck back together." She gazed at their once beautiful home, the red-orange light of the flames reflecting on her face. "There's been a change of plans…"

* * *

She had sensed her. She had felt her pain. Her suffering.

Her anger.

They were connected somehow. She felt the connection become stronger as the anger grew. She knew it wouldn't be long before the anger took over completely and the connection was complete.

_It must not be now, though,_ she thought.

_Not yet…_

She slowly trudged onwards, looking to her right. A huge cloud of black smoke was covering the sky. It rose higher and higher. She could hear the flames. She could sense her by the flames.

_Not yet…_

She turned away and moved on, not looking back.


	8. The News The Welcome

**Chapter 8: The News; The Welcome**

By: Galadeidre

Wolverine grunted. "Hand me that wrench, will ya?" He held out his hand.

Rogue scavenged for the tool in the toolbox and handed it to him, her hands covered in thin, dark green gloves that reached up to her elbow. She wore a dark green sash around her neck and a spring dress to match. Her knee-high boots were black and she was sitting on the cold, tile floor watching Wolverine as he fixed the X-Jet.

Scott was a few yards away, polishing his motorcycle. He wiped his brow as he finished and walked over to where Rogue was sitting. He crouched down to look at Wolverine and grinned.

"Havin' fun?"

Wolverine looked at him for a moment. "I could force you down here if I wanted to, One-Eye."

"I'd like to see you try."

"You're askin' for it." He scrambled out from underneath the Jet and charged forward.

Rogue jumped out of the way as the fellow X-Men wrestled on the floor. She laughed and watched in interest. Several of the other mutants nearby turned to see what the commotion was all about. Storm's group of students she had been teaching were all watching the match with wide eyes. Some of the kids had even started rooting for their winner.

Nightcrawler teleported beside Storm and eyed the match with interest. "I'd say they're having fun. All for the best, I suppose."

Storm smiled. "Yeah. They haven't been acting this happy for quite some time." She gave a sad sigh as the thought of Jean went through her head.

The door opened and Professor Xavier wheeled into the room.

Immediately, the two X-men stopped strangling each other and glanced at the Professor, panting slightly. The other kids stopped cheering, as well. All too late, though. Charles had seen.

"Uh, sorry, Professor," Cyclops started. "We were just…just playing around and all. It was only for fun…Professor?"

Charles wasn't listening. He had walked to a TV screen on one of the walls and turned it on. He quickly flipped through the channels before he found the news channel. "You all ought to look at this…"

A female reporter was talking and Charles turned up the volume so everyone could hear.

"There has just been a recent discovery of a blazing inferno in the middle of a snow-filled forest. It was discovered a few miles off of Laughlin City and is still increasing in size as we speak." She put her hand to her ear and was quiet for a moment. "I have just gotten the latest on the fire. The firemen have finally been able to penetrate the fire and have gone into a solitary cottage. Causes of the inferno have not yet been determined. Here is an aerial visual of the inferno."

For a few moments, the screen showed the fire from above. The fire had spread and covered about a 50-yard radius. It was still spreading and the sky above it was covered with thick black smoke.

The reporter was finishing her report when the screen flashed back to show her. "More on the mysterious inferno will be reported as soon as possible. This is Katrina Feldspar on WB11 News. Back to you, Sean."

Charles lowered the volume on the TV and turned to Cyclops. The look on the mutant's face was all the professor needed. "So, it was their cottage." It was more of a statement than a question.

Cyclops slowly nodded. "I almost have no doubt about it."

Storms had covered her mouth with her hands. She shook her head in shock. "But…but how? I mean…they were fine last time we saw them. That was only yesterday. How could this have happened?"

"I don't know, Ororo," Charles responded quietly. He heaved a sigh. "I would try to use Cerebro again, but I've already broken my promise to them."

"Your promise?" Wolverine asked. The others looked at him.

Charles gave another sigh. "They had lived here in the mansion several years ago for a little while. When they left, they told me to promise that I never try to trace them down. They value their isolation from the world – mutant and human. They are a lone group of mutants. Their ancestors have always tried to stay in hiding and solitude, unless under great peril. I've already used Cerebro once, for I was afraid of what might happen if I didn't ask them for help sooner or later."

"But they wouldn't know," Cyclops argued.

"You forget, Scott." The Professor looked at Scott. "Cleo has a variety of mutant abilities. One of her fortes are powers dealing with the mind. I'm pretty sure she's already quite upset at me for using Cerebro to find her hiding place." Cyclops was silent at this.

Wolverine had been thinking about what the Professor had just said. "So…you actually believe that they're alive?"

"I am absolutely sure about it." Charles sat back in his wheelchair. "Those four won't die so easiliy. What confuses me is why they were attacked. I'm quite sure that no one knows that they live there…unless…"

"Unless what?" Nightcrawler spoke up. He leaned forward, a look of worry on his face.

Charles had a look of strained distress on his face. "Unless he found them…"

"He?" Nightcrawler asked. "Who's h…oh."

Charles quickly turned his head to Cyclops. "Scott. Did anything unusual happen while you visited them yesterday?"

"Well, actually, yeah. A group of bodyguards surrounding their leader came. They attacked Cleo, but her sisters intervened."

"Did you catch the name of the leader?"

"Uh, yeah. I think it was Morrey, or something like that."

"Morrey…" Charles was thinking hard. His eyes suddenly widened. "Nathan Morrey…"

"Nathan Morrey?" Storm asked questioningly. "Professor, do you know him?"

"I can't quite say that I know him, but he did visit the mansion once or twice."

"What for?" Cyclops asked.

"Well, he asked if I would let him take the three kids for a time, but I told him no."

Wolverine snorted. "This isn't an adoption center, for his information. But from the looks of it, I think he's got a soft spot for that Cleo."

Charles nodded. "I feared that, but I still don't understand how he was able to find them."

"Unless, he was working for Magneto," Wolverine muttered. "You know, his henchmen aren't that bad at tracing people down."

"That's what I fear might have happened."

"So what are we gonna do?" Cyclops asked.

"We should probably find a good tracker ourselves," Nightcrawler suggested. "Not to mention one who knows medicine. We could use a personal doctor if and when needed."

Charles smiled. "Consider that done." He turned to the door, which slid open.

In the doorframe stood a man holding a briefcase. He looked like he was in his mid-thirties. He wore glasses and his hair was combed neatly back. He had a square jaw, white skin, and blue eyes. He seemed to be quite well-built and wore a business shirt and tie that was loose around his neck.

Cyclops and Storm's face brightened.

"Henry McCoy!" Cyclops walked forward, clasped his hands, and gave him a hug. "It's been a long time!"

The man smiled. "Yes, it has. Ororo! So good to see you, too!"

Storm gave a great big smile. "The feeling's definitely mutual." She gave him a hug.

A few of the students, including Bobby, walked forward to greet the newcomer, now known as Henry McCoy.

Wolverine, Rogue, and Nightcrawler exchanged looks.

Henry McCoy noticed and glanced at Charles. "I see we have new…enrollees."

Charles nodded and looked at the three mutants and back. "Henry, I would like you to meet Logan, or Wolverine, Marie, or Rogue, and Kurt, or Nightcrawler. Logan, Rogue, Kurt. I would like you three to meet Henry McCoy, or also known as Beast."

Wolverine snorted and sarcastically remarked, "He definitely looks like a beast."

"Logan," Cyclops warned with a frown.

"It's all right, Scott," Henry replied with a smile. He walked towards Wolverine, holding his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Logan."

"And you…" Wolverine had just taken Henry's hand, but something was different. Instead of the smooth palm that he had been expecting, it felt…furry.

Henry's smile widened and his eyes behind his glasses twinkled playfully. "It's different, isn't it? You shouldn't judge someone by their outward appearance."

Wolverine raised an eyebrow.

Henry continued on explaining. "I use a device that hides my true identity if I want to. Here. I'll show you my true form." He pulled out an odd-looking wristwatch and pushed one of its many buttons.

Immediately, the peach-white skin and dark hair and eyes disappeared, and in its place was blue fur and dark blue hair, but his eyes stayed the same cool blue.

Wolverine stepped slightly back, apparently shocked at what he was seeing. Rogue and Nightcrawler felt the same way.

"As I said before, never judge the outside." Henry smiled.

"Incredible," Kurt whispered. "I never thought I'd see someone who…who looks…like me. How is that? Were you born like that?"

Henry smiled and patted Nightcrawler on the back. "Maybe I'll tell you someday. For now, it looks like we'll be working together."

"So it seems," Nightcrawler replied smiling. His face then returned to all-out seriousness and he turned to the Professor. "So what are we going to do now, Charles?"

"All we can do right now is wait." Charles looked out the window. "Henry, you can get started in trying to trace them, right?"

Henry nodded. "I'll get started as soon as I can."

"Good. I don't like the idea, but we have to wait for someone else to do the first move. Either Magneto or the girls. I can't do too much. Even during this time of crisis, Cleo wouldn't like us to get involved. This is her fight. Her and the others. We can't help them much unless they come to us first."

"But Professor, don't you think that's being a little too yielding?" Cyclops asked.

"Yes, but I can't do anything about it." Charles gave them all a glance that meant that the matter was settled. Everybody must have gotten the hint, for not even Wolverine argued.

"Well," Henry slapped his arms to his sides and let out his breath. "I think I'll unpack the rest of my belongings and get started."

"Yes, I think that's best." As Henry started out the door, Charles called to him. "Uh, Henry."

Henry turned around.

Charles smiled. "Welcome back home."

Henry smiled and walked out.


	9. Grand Arrival

**Chapter 9: Grand Arrival**

By: Galadeidre

_Knock, knock, knock._

Henry McCoy kept on typing. "Come in."

The door slowly opened and in came Rogue. She glanced around the room.

It was well cleaned. The bed had been made, the curtains neatly drawn, and the tables and desk had all been wiped, top to bottom.

Henry was wearing a gray polo that was unbuttoned at the neck. A tie hung loosely around the collar.

McCoy finished what he was typing and sat back in his cushioned chair, pushing up his glasses. He glanced at the young mutant. "Rogue, isn't it?"

Rogue nodded. She wrung her hands slowly, apparently nervous.

Henry noticed and gave a smile. "No need to be nervous. I may be a beast, but I'm a lamb at heart. At least…I presume myself to be."

Rogue had to laugh at that.

Beast chuckled and pulled up a chair. "Please. Have a seat. I have a feeling you have something to ask?"

Rogue nodded as she sat down. "Um…I…I heard that you were a…a scientist?"

Beast nodded. "I still am."

"Well, I was wondering. Could you…help with my…my mutant powers?"

Beast's face became altogether serious. He gave a sigh and kindly asked, "Have you talked to the Professor about this?"

Rogue nodded. "He recommended me to you, though, he did say you might not know the answer."

"I see," Beast remarked. "And I hate to say this, Rogue, but I don't. Know the answer, that is. I'm sorry."

"Oh." Rogue looked downcast. "Well, I…I'm sorry to have bothered you."

"No bother at all."

Rogue turned around to leave, but Beast called her back.

"Rogue. If it's any help, I could give you advice."

"Sure."

"Well, the Professor explained to me your powers in detail. You have quite the abilities, if I do say so. You can harness them much for good use. I've heard you've already done that a few times. And you've handled it quite well. I'd suggest you practice your skills. You're a helpful asset to the Xmen, Rogue, and whether or not you'll be able to touch, I don't know, but I'm sure it'll come much easier in time."

Rogue gave a small smile. "Thanks, Mr. McCoy." She nodded and closed the door behind her.

Beast stared at the door for a moment longer and sighed. He muttered to himself, "Poor girl. Never being able to touch is rather sad. I don't know if my advice did any good, but I hope it cheered her up a bit at least. Sometimes, there are just some things that you don't have the answer…"

An ear-piercing shriek rang throughout the mansion. Beast had to cover his ears as the shrill cry continued. He stumbled to the door and opened it, just in time to catch Wolverine passing by, a bottle of beer in his hands and a cigar in his mouth.

"What's happening?" Beast shouted over the shrieks.

"It's one of the kids!" Wolverine answered. He used his free arm to cover one of his ears. "Siryn! A warning! We'd better find Xavier and figure out what's up!"

They ran down several corridors before they almost ran into Cyclops around the corner.

"Summers!" Wolverine shouted. "Where's Charles?!"

"He's in his office!" Cyclops answered. "Come on! Storm and Nightcrawler are already there!" They followed Cyclops around a few more corners before they stood in the open hallway leading directly to the Professor's office.

This hallway was harder to go through.

Seemingly almost all the kids had decided to crowd into this area and were blocking the way to Xavier's office.

With great effort, the trio of adults were able to push themselves through the crowd and into Charles's office. They immediately closed the door behind them. The shrill cries of the young mutant could still be heard, but the other screams of the kids had deafened.

"What's with that kid, Charles?" Wolverine asked. He had set his bottle down and thrown away his cigar as to plug both his ears.

"I'm not sure. She must have spotted danger or something to that extent coming."

At that moment, a loud banging was heard on the office door. Beast opened the door and Rogue and Bobby stumbled in. They were both panting.

Before any of the others could speak, Bobby answered the question that was running through everyone's heads. "They're here. They're making quite the entrance. They just all of a sudden were there. It freaked a lot of the younger kids out. Some went berserk when they saw that blonde…Liz…jump down from the gate and rush to the front door. They started attacking and Siryn started screaming."

"I see." Charles turned to Storm. "Ororo. Calm her down and tell her to stop screaming. Rogue. Bobby. Tell the kids who are attacking to stop. I'll deal with our visitors." He wheeled himself out the door and into the chaos outside.

The minute the kids saw Charles, they parted to make way for him and soon started to quiet down. Siryn soon stopped and everyone unplugged their ears. Rogue, Bobby, and a few of the other teen mutants were nowhere to be seen.

A few minutes passed before they reappeared. Rogue and the others slowly walked to the group of kids and adults, looking bewildered and confused.

"They…they just disappeared," Rogue replied, answering the question in the Professor's eyes. "It was as if they were never there."

"No…" Wolverine was sniffing the air. "They're still here…"

The elevator door opened from across the hall. Everyone became silent as a small girl with bouncy brown curls emerged from the elevator, a deck of cards in her hand. She had a cloak with a hood tied around her neck, which made her look like a little Red Riding Hood. She gave the Professor a look of unease as she slowly walked forward.

The Professor took one look at her, smiled, and held out his arms, "Ana…"

Seeing that the Professor recognized her, Ana gave a wide grin and ran to him, giving him a hug. She looked up at him with wide, happy eyes. "I thought I had changed so much that you didn't even recognize me." Her Southern-accented voice was playful.

"For a moment I honestly didn't. You've grown, but still as cute as ever."

Ana smiled at the compliment and gave him another hug.

Suddenly, Wolverine's nose picked up another scent. "Out of the way, Charles!" He moved to block the Professor and Ana.

A hand clawed at his back, ripping his shirt and making a bloody gash appear. Liz landed crouched on the ground. She jumped backwards.

Wolverine turned around and growled. He pulled out his adamantium claws, making the other children jump away.

"Hey, that's the girl that was attacking us!" one of the teenagers shouted out loud.

Liz grinned. "That was just my mornin' ritual of playin'." She charged forward, letting out a growl.

Wolverine swiped at her. Liz whipped her head back, narrowly missing Logan's attack. She jumped backwards and Wolverine ran towards her.

"Logan! Stop it! That's enough!" Xavier ordered, but to no avail. The mutant wasn't listening.

Ana watched them in fear. Then she turned back to the Professor and buried her head in his suit. The Professor gave her a squeeze.

Cyclops noticed. "Logan! Knock it off! You're acting rash!"

"Logan! Please!" Rogue screamed. By this time, the other mutants were starting to murmur to each other about what was going on.

"Ya hear that, Logan?" Liz whispered as she continued fighting. "They want you to quit."

"In your dreams, blondie." He swiped upwards and caught the bottom of the wolf-mutant's chin.

She screamed and howled in agony as the claws left their deep marks. She backed away which gave Logan the split second to lunge at her.

Liz was quick, though. Just as he was about to swipe again, she evaded it and clamped down on his shoulder, ripping some of his skin and shirt off. She spat out what was in her mouth and muttered, "As I've said before, you taste nasty." Now, her mouth and her chin were both dripping blood. Wolverine's back had healed, but his shoulder was still pussing out blood.

Cyclops yelled again. "Stop it, both of you! This is a school! Not a war zone!"

"Too late, one-eye!" both shouted back in unison. For a moment, they looked at each other shocked and then they lunged at each other once again.

They never reached each other.

Cleo scowled from where she had appeared through the wall. Her voice was straight English, without an accent, as she spoke. "Dang it, Liz. Can't I leave you for one minute knowing that you won't tear the whole building apart?"

Liz smirked. "I was having fun. Besides, you took long enough in the bathroom."

Cleo scowled and waved her hand. Both Wolverine and Liz fell forward as they were released from her paralyzing powers.

Cleo then walked towards the rest of them. Ana jumped from off of the Professor's lap and ran to her big sister. She clung to her leg and Cleo gently placed her hand on the little girl's head. She then lifted her up in her arms and walked towards the Professor.

Liz spat and crossed her arms. She continued to speak in her Southern drawl. "There ain't no point in bein' here."

"Cut the accent, Liz. You're from the North, not South," Cleo spoke without looking behind her. Her eyes were fixed directly at the Professor's. "Charles."

"Cleo." He gave a slight nod in her direction. "My apologies for tracking you. I feared for the worst."

"No harm done." Her abyss-like eyes were still fixed on Xavier. "Besides. Us being here is the worst thing that could happen."

"I have come to realize that. Would you like to tell us your story in my office?"

"You know most of it, but sure." At this, she took her eyes off of the Professor and turned to Liz. "You and Ana stay here."

"And do what?" Liz growled. She had abandoned her accent.

"I don't know. Make some new friends."

"I don't do well with company, you know. I'm a werewolf."

"I don't care."

"I'm not staying out here!"

Ana, at this point, spoke up. "I don't want to, either, sis. We're in this together." Both her sisters were now looking at her with pleading eyes.

Cleo sighed and rolled her eyes. "All right. Fine. Come on." The girls followed Xavier and the other adult mutants into his office.

Storm urged the other kids to go back to their other activities, but allowed Rogue and Bobby to stay. "You two have seen more than the other kids have, and we might just need your help sometime."

The two young mutants nodded and went through the door.


	10. Change of Plans II

A/N: Tenth chapter's up! Finally! It's been hard. Trying to explain everything and stuff is difficult. Anyways...read on! I hope you guys like the story so far! There's a bit more explainin' to do and this chapter is an explaining chapter, but the action will come back very....very....soon....

**Chapter 10: Change of Plans II**

By: Galadeidre

Once everybody was in the office and the door closed, Cleo immediately spoke. "This is the last place I'd be if I could help it."

"Why do you hate this place so much?" Nightcrawler asked.

"I don't. But it's got too many people. As the Professor probably told you, we're a kind that value our solitude. It's in our blood."

"What I wanna know is what the heck happened back at your place. It was all over the news. And why don't you guys talk with your accents and stuff?" Wolverine growled.

"We don't have accents, dummy," Liz answered. "It's just a precaution, just in case you aren't who you say you are. Didn't you notice that, or were you just too much of a tin can to see? I swear, that adamantium stuff has leaked into your puny brain."

Wolverine growled and stepped forward, his claws coming out between his knuckles. "You want to say that again to my face, kid. Huh?"

"Logan, enough. I will not allow that in this room," Professor ordered. Wolverine growled in defiance but backed away.

Cleo sighed and rubbed her temples. "You two are more than a handful." She decided to change the subject before it was too late. "Anyway, yeah. That huge pillar of smoke on the news was our house. By some chance, did Magneto pick up any new allies or somethin'? I don't recall him with a mutant of fire. At least the last time I saw him and his gang that is."

The Professor's eyes widened for a moment. Then they turned sorrowful and he fell silent.

Seeing that he was unable to answer, Cleo gave a small sigh and closed her eyes. A few moments passed and then she opened them again. "John Allerdyce. Former student here in Mutant High. Mutant name, Pyro."

Xavier nodded. "He was always a bit troublesome here."

"A bit?" Bobby muttered under his breath.

"With the right guidance, he could have turned out to be a wonderful man," the Professor continued. "Maybe it's still not too late…"

"Save your breath, Charles," Cleo interrupted. "Sorry to say, but not that one. And again I'm sorry to say, but we have a 'Magneto Crisis' on our hands here. We came here for your help."

"And you expect us to help you?" Cyclops asked in wonderment. He gave a wry laugh. "After turning us down when we came to your place? I doubt that."

Cleo scowled at him. "We don't like working with others often. It's our last resort. We like to handle things our way and without others. It slows us down otherwise."

"Not unless you work together as a team," Storm argued.

Cleo lifted her hands up in bewilderment. "Don't you guys get it? We don't like working with anybody else! We're a lone race."

"You're mutants just like us," Cyclops put in.

"We are not mutants just like you!"

"What do you mean by that? Mutants are mutants! There's not much of a difference between our kind except some are good and some are bad!"

"Scott, please!" the Professor finally spoke. "This is much more complicated than you realize, Scott."

"How complicated could it be?"

"_Very_ complicated." Scott saw that it was pointless to argue and kept his mouth shut. Xavier sighed and turned to Cleo. "What do you want our help for?"

"You're not actually saying we're going to help them?" Wolverine asked incredulous.

"You guys don't actually have much of a choice," Liz spoke up. Her hand was covering her chin, which was starting to bleed again.

The others noticed.

"We should wrap that up for you," Beast spoke stepping forward. His voice was filled with genuine concern.

Liz edged away from him a warning in her eyes. "I'm fine. I don't need any medical attention. We have a healer in our family anyways." She glanced at Cleo.

Cleo sighed. "Fine. Come here." Liz walked to her and Cleo held her hands under her sister's chin. Her hand started to glow and the gaping wound began to heal. "There." Liz backed away to the wall satisfied and Cleo turned her attention back at the Professor.

"Going back to our first topic before it went off course. And this time, I want to be able to talk about the whole situation through _without_ any interruptions of any kind." She glared at the other mutants including her sisters as she said this.

"I have a feeling this may be a long explanation," Xavier spoke. "So, everybody should get comfortable where they are."

Cleo snorted. "It's shorter than you think, Charles, 'cause you already know most of the facts." She sat in a chair and Ana climbed onto her lap, snuggling close.

"True," Xavier nodded. "Let's see how much I've been able to figure out." He leaned back in his chair. "You have assumed that Magneto was the one who destroyed your cottage in Northern Alberta."

Cleo nodded.

"Assuming that Pyro has allied himself with the Brotherhood, he was probably the one who burned your cottage."

Again, she nodded.

"Now, you ask yourself why?"

Cleo spoke this time. "Why did he burn our home? How did he quite find us? And why did he wait for us three to be out of the house so he could destroy the only member of our family who could still be bended to his will?"

"What do you mean 'bended to his will'?" Cyclops asked. "You're all strong mutants. You could have withstood him."

"We're still practically kids, Summers," Cleo explained. "In time, as Lex grew, Magneto might have been able to use him against us if given the chance. Lex didn't have any mutant powers yet. Who knows what he could have had in a few more years time."

"So," Beast spoke up, "I presume that you've had a few encounters with Magneto that are similar to the idea you just spoke of?"

"Two or three times."

"That is a bit odd," Storm replied. "Him killing Lex instead of you three when you already know him and he already knows your powers."

"Well, I have quite a good assumption for that second question of yours, in how he found you," Xavier replied.

Cleo looked back at him. "You're thinking Morrey, right?"

"Precisely."

Cleo nodded. "I had that assumption, too. It's probably true. Pity that he's dead, though."

This shocked everyone else in the room.

"He's dead?!" Cyclops asked.

"You never told us this," Ana said, looking up at her big sister.

"I didn't really want to scare you guys for no reason."

"Well, good riddance to him," Liz muttered. "He was no good at all."

"He could have been our only lead to Magneto," Beast muttered.

"How did you know that he was dead, though? Did you kill him or something?" Wolverine asked.

"I try keeping a clean slate, Logan," Cleo answered. She sighed. "It was Magneto who killed him. I saw it."

"And how?" Cyclops asked.

"Duh," Cleo muttered, tapping her head. "Mutant powers."

"Well, if you're mutant powers are that strong, can't you pinpoint where they are for us?" Cyclops asked.

"It's not that easy," Cleo muttered. "I can't do everything. Magneto's helmet works for all telepaths pretty much. I don't know if I have enough energy to penetrate his helmet and figure out his plan or where he's located."

"There goes our stroke of good luck," Wolverine muttered.

"No matter," Charles replied. "They'll leave a trail, I'm sure. But for now, it's getting late, and I'm sure you three would like some rest. You've been through quite the ordeal. Once the reporters and officers have left, I'll have Beast, Storm, and Cyclops go to your cottage and check the debris for any remains or any clues."

"Good deal." Cleo gave the Professor a glance. "So, I guess this means you'll help us?"

"We've always been allies, whether you like to work alone or not," Charles replied, holding out his hand.

"Yeah…I guess we have been." She gave the Professor a small smile and shook his hand. She then turned to leave the room. "Come on, girls. Let's find our rooms." She and her sisters left.

"So we're helping them?" Cyclops asked.

"Don't hate them, Scott," Xavier remarked. "They live a hard life. Harder than you would expect. As she said, they may be mutants, but they're not mutants like us."

"What does that mean, Professor?" Storm asked.

The Professor sighed. "You have to ask Cleo for that explanation. I cannot explain it to you. Just believe me when I say this. Her family has had many troublesome experiences. Their lives are filled with so much sorrow. Coming to us for help is quite tormenting for them, but they do appreciate it. Just give them a chance."

"Easier said than done, but sure," Beast remarked.

"Whatever," Wolverine growled. He was still mad at the young werewolf.

"Well, anyways, it's getting late. I'm ready for a good night's rest. Good night, everyone." He wheeled himself around his desk and out the door. The others soon followed.

A/N: As I said...a lot of explaining. You probably already knew a lot of those facts, but did ya'll catch all the unanswered questions and non-explained answers here? It'll all be revealed soon...I hope...:)


	11. Alliance and Pain

**Chapter 11: Alliance and Pain**

By: Galadeidre

"Ana, open the door," Cleo muttered as she flopped onto the bed.

Ana stood up from where she was playing with her cards, skipped to the door, and opened it wide.

Rogue stood at the foot of the door, poised to knock. She put her hand down and turned a slight shade of red. "Um…sorry…if…if I'm interrupting."

"You're not." Cleo sat up and glanced at Liz. "Take Ana and get some dinner into your stomachs before you turn in for the night."

"But it's only five and Liz and I wanna go to the Danger Room they have here. We want to practice, sis," Ana whined.

"Fine. Just eat dinner first."

Liz smirked. "Let's hope they have some red meat here. C'mon, Ana." She and her little sister walked out of the room and shut the door.

Once they were gone, Cleo nodded towards Rogue. "Pull up a chair or something. You can even sit on Liz's bed if you want. She won't care."

Rogue chose the latter and started to speak.

"You're gonna ask if I can do almost any type of power," Cleo interrupted. "Answer to that is, practically yes. But not everything. If you were listening in Xavier's office, I have my limits."

"I…I was," Rogue replied. "I…I know you mind read. You probably know what I came here for, right?"

Cleo glanced at her gravely. "No need mind reading to see what you want. You think your mutant power's a curse, huh?"

Rogue gave a slight nod.

"And you want me to help you in some way, 'cause you have a feeling I can do something?"

Again, a nod.

Cleo gave a sigh and Rogue gave a wince. "It's not that simple, is it?" Rogue asked.

Cleo gave a smirk and nodded. "You were born with your mutant powers. I can't just take them away. That's beyond my ability." She looked at Rogue's downcast face. "But…I can give you a bit of…freedom, if you will…for a short while at least."

At this, Rogue lifted up her face with a small glint of hope.

"I can't take away your powers forever, but…I _can_ take them away for a day or so; just so you can know what it feels like to touch."

Rogue gave a small gasp. "You…you can do that?"

Cleo nodded. "I haven't tried it, but I'm pretty sure that that's in my power to do. It probably has some side effects but it's nothing to quite worry about."

"Wh…what kind of side effects?"

Cleo shrugged. "Nothing for you, I think. And whatever the side effects are, it's probably no big deal."

Rogue didn't know what to say.

"So…do you want me to do that? No powers for about a day?" Cleo grabbed a pillow and stifled a yawn. "I can do that tomorrow morning."

"Well…I guess it wouldn't hurt to try it." Rogue stood up. "Thank you so much, Cleo."

Cleo gave a nod and watched as Rogue headed for the door. "Oh, um, Rogue."

Rogue turned around.

"I'll give you a warning, though." She sat up straighter on the bed, but still hugged the pillow. "You're a mutant whose powers are dangerous and deadly, and you think it a curse to have it. You know that much. What you probably don't realize is that after a time, since you were born with those powers, you come to depend on them. Without them, you feel yourself weak and vulnerable, depending on your mutant abilities. Just because it seems a curse now, it's also a gift. Not many can do what you do. It's a defense as well as an offense, if you will. In time, you should do what Beast told you. Practice your skills. Learn to control it. I can't promise you that you'll be able to touch, but you've got to learn to cope. Believe me, I know."

Rogue slowly nodded. She lifted her hand from the door handle and sat back down. "Cleo?"

"Hmmm?"

"Your powers. What kind do you have?"

Cleo sighed and shrugged. "A lot of different powers. I can do every power of every mutant on the face of this planet, plus a little bit more."

"Well…if you have every power, including mine, how come you can still touch?"

Cleo smirked. "How can I still keep my eyes open and not have to wear shades if I can shoot lasers out of my eyes like Cyclops?" She shrugged again. "Along with my mutant powers, I have to exercise total and focused control. If I don't, I could level the whole of New York and beyond in a matter of minutes."

"Is there some mutant powers that you…can't control?"

At this, Cleo's black-abyss eyes went darker. Rogue couldn't help but suppress a shiver as she notice the change.

For a moment, Cleo didn't speak. When she did, the tone was just a hair colder. Her voice seemed secretive, choosing its words with care. "I don't know the boundaries of some of my powers and control isn't just something that appears on your doorstep. It takes time to control some powers."

Rogue was sure that there was a hidden message in that answer, but she didn't dare ask any further. She was spared when a knock was heard on the door.

Cleo's expression immediately changed back to its normal, calm and leader-like air, and she gave a nod to Rogue. "We'll see you tomorrow morning, then?"

Rogue nodded. "Sure. Thanks again. Good night." She opened the door and walked out as Liz and Ana walked back in. Ana was holding a plate with a few sweets and a large glass of chocolate milk. Liz held a platter with raw, bloody T-bone steaks. They both glanced at Rogue as she walked out.

"What was that all about?" Liz asked as she ripped off a piece of meat.

"Nothing much." Cleo flopped back and closed her eyes. "Nothing at all."

* * *

"Heeyah!!" Liz slashed the laser guns that were being fired at them.

Ana ran around the room. She took out two cards: Ace of Spades and King of Spades. These, she threw out and up. The cards flew around, slicing the rest of the guns that Liz hadn't gotten to.

Liz jumped down to the ground as the voice of the computer spoke. "Level Four complete."

"Hmph." Liz smiled and put one hand on her hip. "Maybe we should do one-on-one combat practice next."

Ana pouted. "You always win, Liz. I wouldn't be able to fight you long."

"True," Liz muttered as she sniffed the air. She smiled. "So I'll fight someone else this time. Hey, Logan! You waiting for your next turn to lose?"

Logan came out from where he had been watching them. "Doubt that. Besides, you were just lucky last time."

"Well, we'll see if that lucky streak is still with me." She turned around and jumped towards him. Ana ran to the side to watch.

Wolverine shot out his claws and swiped at her. He missed her skin, but was able to cut off a few strands of her hair.

Liz jumped back to see the damage done. She held her hair and glanced at him. "You cut my hair."

"And you've bitten my skin – twice." Wolverine jumped at her, retracted his claws, and punched her before she was able to dodge it.

Liz landed flat on her back and slid a few inches before coming to a complete stop.

Wolverine watched as she slowly got up. When she was standing he ran towards her once more. "That was one." He punched her in the stomach. "That was two."

Liz groaned in response as she backed away.

Wolverine grinned. "Where's your lucky streak now?" He ran towards her again.

Liz gave a small, sly smile. "It's still here." She ducked as Wolverine threw a punch and kicked him between the legs.

Wolverine held back a groan and backed away for a moment.

Liz smiled. She jumped over him, clawing his cheeks with her nails as she did so.

This time Wolverine cried out.

Liz laughed. "I told you it's still here."

Wolverine growled. He shot out his claws and swiped upwards, cutting the bottom of her chin and her cheek as he did so.

Liz screamed and Wolverine aimed his fist and claws toward her stomach.

"STOP!!!"

A card, King of Diamonds, blocked Wolverine's claws from coming in contact with Liz: and not a moment too soon, either.

Ana ran up to Wolverine and gently shook his arm. "Please. You have to stop. You don't have to finish her off. She can't heal like you. You won. Liz accepts that. Please, Logan?"

Wolverine looked up from the little mutant to her sister. Liz was dripping blood everywhere. She was finished, but she glared at Wolverine with defiance. Her eyes seemed to say, _You're not going to quit. Not until we've completed a fight._

Wolverine smiled and retracted his claws back again. He walked over to Liz and held out his hand. "That was a good fight."

Liz's eyes widened. She frowned for a few moments and then smiled. She shook his hand. "I enjoyed those fights, too. To tell you the truth, they're better than the combat practices that I have with Cleo."

Wolverine grinned and sat down where he was. Liz did the same. Ana ran to get a towel for Liz's chin and then sat down beside them.

"So," Wolverine started, "were those fights some sort of initiation test or something? To see if I could be accepted?"

Liz shrugged and grinned. "You could say that. You were kind of like a werewolf and I wanted to see what you were made of. I've never met a mutant with similar abilities like mine."

"And you reminded us of when we first met our 'adopted Daddy'," Ana piped up.

"Ana…" Liz warned. She clapped her hand on her sister's mouth.

Wolverine cocked an eyebrow. "Whose this 'Adopted Daddy'?"

Liz looked at him for a moment, sighed, and dropped her hands from her sister. "We called him that because he took care of all of us for a while. He took such good care of us that we called him our Dad." She gave a chuckle. "He fought Cleo, just like you did, and he ended up the same way you did – unconscious and drained of all energy. Not that he was a bad fighter or anything. He was really good. And nice, too, despite his first impression."

"What happened to him?" Wolverine had caught the sad tone of her voice as she had spoken.

"Well you see…he was a mutant, just like us. And he had some things to take care of in his family. He left us and never came back. We never heard from him again."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, well, we've sorta gotten over it." Liz shrugged her shoulders and stood up. Ana did the same. "It's different for Cleo, though. I don't think she'll ever get over him disappearing. She can't even sense the tiniest signs of life from him, meaning only one thing." She glanced at Ana. "We'd better go. Cleo'll be calling for us soon."

"So this Dad of yours took care of all of you? Even Cleo? That's a pretty nice man." Logan followed them to the door.

Liz stopped and looked at Wolverine before she walked out of the room. "He was Cleo's boyfriend." And with that said, the two girls walked out, leaving Wolverine silent.

* * *

"Ah, Mystique. There you are. Care to accompany me down to the bottom floor?" Magneto held out his arm as his right-hand mutant came to join him. They started down a long, narrow staircase.

"Wait!" Pyro ran towards them from where he had been sitting with Sabertooth and Toad. "Where are you guys going?"

Magneto glanced at him for a moment and replied, "Well, I suppose you can come along, too. We do need someone to light our way, considering it's a bit dark down there. Come along then." The three of them walked down the steps, Pyro holding out a ball of fire.

It seemed to Pyro that the staircase kept going on forever. He was about to mention something after about five minutes of walking before he noticed the end of the stairs just a few more steps down. There was a wooden door at the bottom of the steps, too.

"Well, then." Magneto held the door handle. "Pyro, I'd like to welcome you to the Pheonix Cells, as I call it. What you see here will not be spoken about above the stairs. I am trusting you to keep this a secret, all right?"

Pyro nodded. _What could be behind the door that's so important it has to be kept secret?_

Magneto opened the door and they stepped into a huge dome-like chamber, similar to Cerebro's room. The room was empty and there was one metal door with a large wheel to open it at the very opposite end of the room.

Magneto walked to that door and Mystique and Pyro followed. Magneto held out his hand and the wheel turned, opening the door. The three mutants walked through it.

The minute Pyro saw what was in this room, which was also dome-shaped, he forgot about the fire and dropped the lighter, his mouth open.

This room was not empty. A young man, not more than eighteen or nineteen years old, was chained to the wall with thick, metal manacles. He had dark brown hair, which stuck to his sweaty brow. His eyes, which had slowly opened as they stepped into the room, were a clear blue-green. His face was pale and drained of color, because of being in the dark too long and because he was weak. His shirt was in rags and he had a few bloody gashes across his chest. A metal helmet, similar to Magneto's had been placed and tied tight onto the young man's head.

That, though, was not why Pyro's mouth was open, for there was more to this young man than was fully seen. It seemed to Pyro that steam was rising off from this man's body, as if his temperature was rising higher and higher. The man's eyes swiftly passed over Pyro and the fire-mutant caught a hint of a fiery red color in his pupil. Immediately, Pyro knew that this man was a mutant.

Magneto smiled and spoke. "Hello, once more, my friend."

The mutant's eyes glanced over in Magneto's direction and Pyro could see it was filled with absolute loathing.

Magneto must have noticed it, too, for he made a look of mock pity and clicked his tongue. "Oh, dear. It looks like I've started on the wrong footing once more. I do hope that those fire-proof chains aren't much of a bother, as well as the helmet. I'm quite sorry that I can't quite release you from them. I still need your help for a few more of my…plans."

All this time the mutant never spoke, but his eyes told it all. He stared at Magneto with absolute and pure hate.

Mystique squeezed Magneto's shoulder and walked over to the young mutant. She stretched her hand to him.

This time, the mutant spoke. His voice was quiet, but intense and very cold. "Keep your hands off me…"

For a moment, Mystique's hands faltered. Then she smiled – a cold, torturing smile. "Whose hands do you want?" She lifted his face up, gently, and her face came up to his – a little too close. "Tell me. Who do you want to see right now?" The mutant didn't speak. He just glared at Mystique with the same loathing eyes as he had with Magneto.

Suddenly, his eyes widened into complete shock, for Mystique had changed. Changed into a young girl of sixteen with dark, wavy hair and eyes like the blackest abyss. Mystique's hands came up to touch his face, but they were small, delicate hands of a light brown color instead of the blue hands that were expected.

The young woman that had replaced Mystique gave a smile and said, "Is it me that you want to see?"

The mutant was shocked. He was able to utter one word. "Cle…o…"

Cleo's duplicate smiled and got closer. "You're not seeing wrong. It's me. Cleo." And before he was able to say anything else, the duplicate had planted her lips straight onto his. The mutant didn't object, obviously haven forgotten, at that moment, that the girl in front of him was not as she seemed.

It didn't last long, though. The mutant broke off the kiss and looked away. "That trick's not gonna work for long on me." He looked up at her with eyes that had gone back to the hateful look. "I'll kill you if you try that again."

Mystique smiled. She was still in her Cleo form. "But you liked it, didn't you? You didn't break off that kiss until you did because you miss her, don't you? You wanted to feel her once more, am I right?" She walked up to him again to kiss him once more.

This time, he spat in her face. Immediately, Mystique changed back to her true form and scowled.

The mutant scowled back at her. "As I've said, you're not gonna do that again to me."

Mystique scowled again, but was prevented of doing anything, for Magneto now spoke.

"Come, now. Let's play nice, shall we?" Magneto smiled. "I just came down to see how you were doing, dear boy. Oh, and by the way, here's a new face that you probably won't recognize. This is Pyro, or John. Pyro, I'd like you to meet who we like to call the Ruby Phoenix. Or Phoenix, for short."

Pyro slowly walked towards the mutant, now known as Phoenix, and nodded. "Pleased to meet you. So, I guess you have fire power just like me, huh?"

Phoenix scowled. "Why'd you join up with the likes of him? He's no good, I'll tell you that much."

Pyro hesitated to answer.

"That's a bit harsh, boy," Magneto replied in his friendly tone. "Have you lost all sense of manner?"

"Why do I care about manners when it's you I'm talking about?"

Magneto didn't answer this. He just smiled and shook his head. "Such a temper. Anyway, time is running away from us again. Tell me, Pheonix, dear boy. Why do you think I've come to visit you once more?"

Phoenix smirked. "To torture me is my guess. Considering, you know everybody thinks I'm dead. No one'll look for me…not even Cleo…" As he spoke her name, his voice went down to a whisper.

Magneto smiled. "That is quite true. Today, though, torture is far from my mind. My plan has been set in motion. The Reincarnations have finally asked for Charles's help. They're living at the school for now."

Phoenix's eyes widened. "What did you do?"

"I just had Pyro, here, burn down their cottage in the forest."

Phoenix's voice shook as he looked away and spoke, "That was their only solid memory of their parents…" Pyro felt a guilty pain in his gut as the mutant said this.

Magneto continued. "They have their minds to reminisce the past."

Phoenix scowled. "What do you plan to do?"

"Well, I'll tell you. You know many of Cleo's secrets, do you not?"

Phoenix didn't answer.

"Well, I know one of her most guarded secrets. You know what I'm talking about."

At this, Phoenix choked. "You can't know…" he whispered.

Magneto smiled and nodded. "Oh, but I do. And I'll have it for my own soon. By playing with her love for her siblings, I'll slowly persuade her to do my bidding."

"And how the heck am I gonna help you in this plan? Sounds like you don't need me."

"Oh, but I do. She won't be able to say no…once you're the bait." Magneto gave a small chuckle. "You'll see it all happen very soon, dear boy. Until then, stay alive. Farewell, now." With that said, he walked away, followed by Mystique. Pyro gave him one more glance and then followed the other two.

Once the door was shut, Phoenix let out a breath and leaned his head on the cold wall. He closed his eyes and winced as he tried to move his wrists just a bit. The blood had long since run down to his shoulders from the tips of his fingers and his hands and fingers were numb from feeling. He sighed and uttered a few words.

"Cleo…take care…I'm so sorry..."

* * *

He was connected to her, too. She could sense that. His pain and suffering. His agony. All of that was overflowing. She could feel his emotions overflow and flood her memory. But she couldn't figure out where he was. _Where are you? We must find you…soon…_

She stood up from where she had been sitting. The rubble surrounded her. She had been sitting on a mound of what would have been glass. She picked up a small piece of glass. There was a little bit of golden stencil still engraved onto the glass. A design could still be made out from what was left of the stencil: a wolf here, and vine there.

She closed her eyes as a small gust of wind passed by. _Such memories should not be lost._ She could feel the pain that had been felt by them. By her. The burden had been enlarged. Sooner or later she would not be able to hold all her emotions inside herself much longer. Then…then she would lose herself…lose all control. She would be…changed.

_Not yet…_

She repeated this over and over to herself.

_Not yet…_

She walked out of the rubble and into the forest and snow once more…


	12. The Card's Final Draw

**Chapter 12: The Card's Final Draw**

By: Galadeidre

Cleo yawned as she opened the door to the kitchen.

Several heads looked up as she walked in, including her sisters.

"Good morning, Cleo," Charles remarked.

Cleo yawned again. "G'morning." She walked over to the fridge and took out a milk jug.

"Did you have a restful night?" the Professor asked.

"It was pretty good. The same as always, whenever I'm here." She filled a tall glass with milk and drank it all down. As she did so, she noticed Rogue watching her, her eyes alight with a bit of a bounce. Cleo gave a nod. "Rogue."

"Hi." There was an unspoken question in her voice that Cleo knew all too well what it was.

"Let me wake up first and eat my breakfast before we do anything else."

Rogue gave a nod. The others – Bobby, Storm, Xavier, Beast, and Nightcrawler – glanced at Rogue. Word had spread fast once Rogue had mentioned it to Bobby. Not that it was a secret of any sort.

Liz walked up to her big sister to take the milk from her. She held a chicken bone in her hand. "I hope you know what you're doing," she muttered.

"No." Cleo grabbed an apple. "But it's worth a try." She walked out of the kitchen and outside into the backyard. Rogue followed her.

"Storm," Charles replied once Rogue had left. "I think you had best follow them and watch, just to make sure nothing wrong happens."

Storm nodded and walked out the door.

Liz stood up to follow and so did Ana.

"I doubt that you should go this time, you two," Charles replied kindly. "You know as well as I do, she wouldn't want you two to be there to worry if something happens to her. Best stay out of her way until she comes back." The two girls didn't like the idea, but sat down again.

"Well, then I wish her good luck," Liz muttered as she gnawed on the chicken bone.

* * *

Cleo walked around the pond in the backyard. Behind her, she could hear soft footsteps. She took a bite out of the apple. "If you want to, you can just wait a while. Let me wake up first, as I said." She heard another set behind her and sighed. "Checkin' up to make sure nothing's wrong, huh, Storm?"

Rogue turned around to see Storm nod and cross her arms in front of her. "If you don't mind."

"Not in the least." She walked to the edge of the pond and sat down. She glanced up at Rogue as she took another bite. "Sit down." Rogue did as she was told. Storm walked to the other side of Cleo and, too, sat down. She watched Cleo take a few more bites out of her apple and gaze into the morning sky.

"You seem to always have that faraway look in your eyes, as if you're thinking about someone," Storm observed softly. "Are you?"

"Are you my psychiatrist?" Storm didn't answer this, but continued to speak.

"You seem to be thinking of someone close. Or someone long gone."

Cleo didn't answer, but her eyes had gone blacker and her mouth had become thinner. Rogue noticed this. So had Storm.

"I'm sorry I spoke. I see you don't want to talk about it."

"Don't be." Cleo sighed and leaned back on the grass. "Sorry, that is. I should be over it by now. As my sisters sometimes tell me, I've got to move on."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

For a moment, Cleo didn't speak, and it seemed to Storm that she wouldn't. Finally, Cleo started, her voice only a little louder than a whisper.

"His name was Byron. I met him during a little gathering that was being held. My parents knew his parents. We were only kids back then. Liz was still a baby. He didn't take too kindly to us, at first." She gave a chuckle. "Thinking back now, he reminds me of Wolverine with his impatience and outspokenness. He and I got into an argument that first time we met." She was quiet for a moment, as if thinking back. "We were all mutants. We all knew that. His power was of the earth. He could do anything with the earth: earthquakes, hurricanes, rock formations, even volcanic eruptions if he had really wanted to. He was a good kid. He knew his limits. That day, he wanted to do a one-on-one with me, to see if I was worth his time." She smiled. "As young as I was back then, I had already mastered plenty of my powers, including draining the energy out of someone. My parents had also taught me how to fight. He was down in a few minutes flat, drained and with a few good bruises. After that, we just somehow became the best of friends. We understood each other. It was as if we were meant to meet."

"What happened then?" Rogue asked.

Cleo looked up into the blue sky as she continued. "We spent a lot of time with each other, playing, training, and so on. One day, several years later actually, my family was over at their place. Their house was suddenly attacked."

"Attacked?!" Storm asked. "By who?"

Cleo looked at her. "You know who." Storm didn't say anything at that.

Cleo sighed. "Both our folks told all of us kids to run and save ourselves. Of course, Byron and I wanted to help, but they wouldn't let us. We ran as far as we could. They said that they'd meet us at our cottage. We all waited. Days passed. Days turned to weeks. Weeks to months. Months to a year. It became obvious that they weren't coming back. I had already known, considering that I could sense their powers if they were still alive. I couldn't sense the tiniest presence of them. We found someone to feed Lex. He was only a year old. Only a year and he would never meet his mom and dad…"

"I'm sorry," Storm muttered.

"It's okay." Cleo shrugged. "Anyways, Byron decided to stay with us ever since. He said that we needed taking care of. He was an only child, and he didn't quite have anywhere to go. He was great with my siblings. Became their second Dad, if you will." She smiled. It was a sad smile. "After about another year, he got a message during Christmas. I never figured out what it said, 'cause he never showed it to me. All I know is that it said something that ticked him off good. He said that the letter wrote of where he could find the murderer of our parents, or Magneto. With that, he just up and left. He promised that he'd be back." She sighed. "It's been a year, and I haven't been able to sense his presence for over six months. He's been long gone…but I just can't give him up. Not yet. I know I have to, but…it's just too dang hard…" Her voice broke and she shook her head. "Sorry. Lost control there. Can't do that. I'd be risking a lot if I lost control."

"Are you sure that he's…well…dead?" Rogue asked quietly.

"Well ninety-nine point nine percent sure," Cleo answered. "I haven't sensed him for a long time now. He's as good as dead. He doesn't have the ability to mask his energy like me."

"Why didn't you join him in his hunt for Magneto?" Storm asked.

"His parents didn't make him promise." Cleo closed her eyes for a moment. "Before we left our parents, my folks had promised me not to avenge their deaths. Revenge wasn't the answer. They never believed in that. Byron's parents never said anything about that to him. I was bound by a promise, and I keep my promises." She smirked. "Even if I don't like to." She sighed and stood up. "Anyways, enough of that." She looked at Rogue and gave a nod. "Can't dwell on the past. C'mon. I still gotta give you some freedom."

"Right." Rogue stood up and Storm followed.

"All right, then," Cleo muttered. "I want you to hold out both your hands, just a little ways, with your palms up. No need to take your gloves off. I can do my powers through them."

Rogue did as she was instructed and Cleo put her hands above Rogue's, with palms hovering, facing downwards. "Okay. I don't know how well this is gonna work, just to warn you. Ready?"

Rogue nodded.

"Here goes." Cleo stared at both pairs of hands as Storm watched from behind her. Cleo gently placed her hands on top of Rogue's.

Rogue immediately felt her mutant abilities kick in. Cleo's hands, she noticed, were starting to clearly show veins, and Cleo had slowly sucked in her breath through her teeth.

Suddenly, Rogue felt something else. Something was tugging at her powers, so it seemed. She felt herself get weak and she fought the urge to fight back. Her powers were being drained. She could feel it. She screwed her eyes shut with the effort of holding back her power. To her, it seemed as if the whole process took an eternity. She felt as if her life was being sucked out and she screamed.

Cleo suddenly let out her breath and immediately withdrew her hands. She fell backwards into Storm's arms. Rogue fell down to her knees, breathing hard. Cleo was no better.

Xavier and several others were running towards them, for they had heard Rogue's scream.

"Is everything all right here?" Xavier asked, the minute he had reached them.

"That's to still be determined." Cleo gave a small groan and slowly stood up. She walked towards Rogue. "How do you feel?"

"I…I'm not sure…" Rogue replied in a small voice.

"Here," Bobby stepped forward. "Try your power on me."

Rogue looked up in shock. "But what if…"

"I've been able to handle your power before, Rogue. I'll be able to do it again." He reached out his hand towards her.

Rogue sighed helplessly and closed her eyes as she took her glove off her right hand. She reached out for his hand and touched his palm with her fingertips.

Nothing happened.

Rogue opened her eyes and let out her breath. She gave a radiant smile. "I don't have them anymore," she breathed. "I…I can touch. I can really touch!" She jumped up and into Bobby's arms. Bobby laughed with her and twirled her around.

Once Bobby let go of her, Rogue turned towards Cleo, who was standing with her sisters on either side of her. "Thank you, Cleo. Thank you so much!" She walked up to her to give her a hug.

Cleo stepped back. "No. I don't do hugs." She gave a small chuckle. "But you're welcome. Now, it'll only last a day, so you had better have some fun."  
Rogue nodded. "I will." She looked down at her hands and stripped off her left glove. "Thanks again." She ran off, Bobby following her.

Cleo watched her for a few moments and then started to rummage through her jean pockets. She took out a pair of soft, black leather gloves and started to place them on her hands.

"What are you doing?" Cyclops asked. They were all watching her now.

"I drained Rogue's powers out of her for a day," Cleo explained. "I have an extra set of powers in me. I have to kinda be a bit more careful."

"What does that have to do with the gloves?" Beast asked. Then it dawned on him. "Unless since you drained her powers, you can't touch anymore either."

Cleo looked up at him. "I'm not positive about it, but you can never be too careful."

"Why don't you test it then?" Wolverine asked. He realized a minute too late that he had opened his big mouth. Cleo looked at him and took off one glove. She placed her fingers on Wolverine's arm, which was bare, and the veins immediately began to show.

Wolverine choked as he felt Rogue's power drain him. But it wasn't just her power. Since it was Cleo who was wielding Rogue's abilities, it was a lot stronger.

Cleo let go, and Wolverine fell to the ground coughing and breathing hard.

"Yup," Cleo muttered as she replaced the glove back on her hand. "I can't touch."

"And since you can't," Xavier spoke up. "I'd hazard a guess that this limits your powers even more so, considering it takes a lot more will power to control your abilities now."

Cleo nodded. "Good guess." She noticed that her sisters were looking at her, worry written all over their faces. She chuckled. "Don't worry, you two. It's only for a day. I'll be fine. I am fine, actually. It's not a big deal. Really." And with that said, she left the group of mutants and walked into the mansion.

Liz watched her go through the door. Then she smirked and crossed her arms. "Well, now we know the truth on why she wouldn't let Rogue hug her."

"She said she didn't do hugs," Wolverine muttered, as he slowly got up. He was slowly regaining his energy.

"That was a lie. She'll hug people, if they want a hug. It's just since she can't touch, she didn't want to tell Rogue that. She didn't want Rogue to feel bad for her." Liz smiled and shook her head. "That's Cleo for you. Always thinking one step ahead if possible and making sure that everybody else is safe and happy before she is."

Xavier nodded. "Yes. Cleo always was like that, ever since I first met her." He looked up at the rest of the group. "Well, I'd say that it's time we went back inside, unless anyone wants to have an early morning stroll. Beast. Storm. Cyclops. I've just got news that the fire is out at the cottage and that it's safe to take a look there to see what you can find. Stay hidden as much as possible, though."

"Don't we always?" Scott muttered. He looked at the other two and nodded. "Let's go, then."

"Good luck," Xavier replied.

* * *

Cleo watched from her bedroom window her younger sisters playing with Nightcrawler, whom they had immediately befriended. They laughed and ran around, playing a makeshift game of tag, with Nightcrawler teleporting here and there and catching the girls off guard. Several of the other children at the Institute were also playing with them. Once they had realized that the younger girls were like them, playful mutants that just wanted a bit of fun, they had also befriended them. Wolverine suddenly walked out to where they were in the front lawn and Liz and Ana soon dragged him into the game of tag.

Cleo gave a sad smile as she watched. She could feel her pent up emotions. Anybody's heart could break at such a load, if they could have only known. She wouldn't cry, though. She had made sure of that long ago…

Cleo continued to watch her siblings. She noticed Wolverine give a rare smile, which shot a pain straight through her heart. _Byron…_

_You have many secrets._

Cleo didn't turn around to see who it was. She already knew. _Many of my burdens are best left unsaid._ Somehow, she knew he would come to speak with her alone. And she was glad that he had. Speaking with him, mind to mind, gave her a brief respite.

_You have led a hard life thus far,_ the Professor wheeled himself slowly closer. _Maybe it would be best if you spoke your mind now to someone. It may ease the burden._

_You know as well as I do that I bear my burdens alone._

_But you are sad._

Cleo smirked. _Who wouldn't be?_

_You know you can trust me._

_It isn't the trust that I'm worried about. _Cleo sighed. _You have your own worries to worry about. Best not add to that. _

_Then why did you come back here?_

Cleo was silent at this.

_Charles…you know we're different. Me. Liz. Ana. Byron. We aren't like you mutants and you know that. I don't have to elaborate, do I?_

_Of course not._

_Then you'd best not ask me about my secrets. I'll tell you when the time's right._

_I'm just quite worried about you. _Xavier looked down through the window and watched the other children. _You were born with such a tremendous load. You're parents, too, were worried. It is only natural that I would want to help._

_I know. And thank you…but I can't say much as of right now._

They were silent for a few minutes after this.

Charles then wheeled himself around and, this time, he spoke out loud. "We shall talk again some other time?"

"Probably."

"Very well, then. Do try to take care of yourself." He wheeled himself out the doorway.

* * *

"Have you found anything, Storm?" Cyclops called to her.

They were at the burned remains of the cottage and were sifting through the ashes and debris in search for anything.

Storm stood up from her crouching position and sighed. "No. Nothing that could help us. How about you?"

Cyclops walked towards her and wiped his forehead with his sleeve. "Zilch." He looked around. "What do you think we should be looking for?"

"I haven't the slightest clue." She sighed. "I feel bad for those three. Losing everything in a matter of a few years time. They have gone through quite the trials. Their parents murdered, living alone, and now their home burned down to the ground."

"How'd you find out that their folks are gone?"

"She told us her story. Rogue and I. Maybe I'll tell it to you sometime."

"I'd like to hear about that." He crouched down and noticed a half-burned card: Ace of Diamonds. "I have to admit. They've been through a lot. Not to mention, they lost their little brother in this fire."

"That's true. Poor little Lex. He was only a little baby."

"I'm not so sure that that little boy died in the fire."

Storm and Cyclops looked up to see Beast coming up to them. "You'd better take a look at this." They followed him to one side of the cottage.

Beast knelt down beside a pile of debris that looked like melted plastic. There were some pieces of burnt wood that were attached to the melted plastic. There was also a little bit of paint left on parts of the debris. "What do you think this is?"

Storm squinted a little and bent down. "It looks like a crib."

"That's what my assumption is, too." Beast took out a device out of his coat pocket. There were readings on the screen. "I've checked this area several times now. If Lex was here in the crib during the fire, there would be no doubt his ashes everywhere in this crib. I haven't found a single pile of biological residue anywhere in this crib that's large enough to have been a baby toddler's burnt body."

"He might not have been in the crib during the time of the fire," Cyclops argued.

Storm shook her head. "Cleo's smart enough not to leave a baby unattended out of his crib. She and her sisters were outside when the fire happened. She wouldn't have left Lex on the floor or anything like that."

Beast nodded. "I had that thought, too."

"So, this would mean that the baby's alive?" Cyclops asked.

Beast nodded. "And I have a feeling Cleo already knows that."

* * *

It was late in the afternoon when Bobby and Rogue came running into the mansion, faces alight.

Rogue was ecstatic and everyone could see it.

Wolverine came up to her and playfully lifted the bottom her chin with his finger. "How was your day of freedom?"

"Great." Rogue gave a grin from ear to ear. "It's so weird not using gloves. I've gotten so used to wearing them that it's hard to remember that I can touch today. Bobby and I went horseback riding, swimming, and to the fair."

Bobby grinned. "I swear, she was trying to bump into as many people as she could so she could see if she could really touch them."

"I did not!" Rogue said with a smile. "But I did try shaking a lot of people's hands."

Wolverine laughed at that. "C'mon. Everybody's in the living room, if you wanna go there."

"Sure." Rogue turned to Bobby. "I'll play you on fooz ball."

"You're on." The two teenagers ran past Wolverine.

Wolverine grinned and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked through the same door the other two had just gone through. He sat on the couch, where Liz and the Professor were watching the news. Ana was on the floor shuffling her cards and placing the top cards down face-up one by one. There was a frown on her face.

"Anything new?" Wolverine asked.

Xavier shook his head. "Nothing on the news is abnormal. I've tried Cerebro, but he's quite good at remembering to keep his helmet on."

"That stinks." Liz slouched down into the couch and crossed her arms. "I'm itching to get my hands on him and strangle the life out of him."

"Don't act rash, Elizabeth," the Professor remarked. "It will get you nowhere."

"You sound like Cleo."

"And maybe that's a good thing." They all continued to watch the news for a little bit longer, but it soon bored them.

Liz sighed and looked down at her little sister. "Hey, Ana. Let's play a game of cards or something."

Ana shook her head. "Not right now." She was looking at the cards she had placed down and she sighed. She shuffled her deck once again and placed the top cards down face-up once more.

"Whoa," Liz muttered. "Now that's weird."

"A one-in-a-million chance this is," Ana agreed.

This had caught the other two mutants' attention.

"What is it?" Xavier asked.

Ana didn't speak. She repeated her procedure once more and placed down the top two cards: Queen of Diamonds and Black Joker.

"Ana?" the Professor asked softly.

"These are the same two cards that I keep pulling out," Ana muttered. "No matter how many times I shuffle it, these are the exact top two cards that I keep drawing. Everytime. And I've done it about seven times now."

"That's definitely not normal," Wolverine muttered. "What does it mean?"

"I'm not sure. The Black Joker is always a sign of trouble. Queen of Diamonds…well…I don't know what that means." Ana sighed and looked up. "Liz? What are you doing?"

"Hang on a sec." She was looking down at her fingers. She was mumbling something inaudible under her breath and she kept counting to three or four on her fingers. She suddenly stopped and looked at her little sister, her eyes wide with horror. "Queen of Diamonds…it's talking about you, squirt."

This time, the little mutant's eyes widened. "What? How do you know that?"

"Well, Ace is the highest right? This is just a hunch, but if it goes according to our age, Ace of Diamonds could be Cleo, King of Diamonds would be me, and Queen of Diamonds…"

"Has this happened before?" Xavier asked catching on quickly.

Ana shook her head. "We always normally pull out a four of diamonds or three of diamonds, considering if it includes Lex or not."

"Maybe it's just superstition," Wolverine tried to reason. He could tell that Ana was more than a bit scared.

"Yeah…maybe…" but before Liz could continue, a pain shot through their heads.

The four mutants squeezed their heads when the pain didn't subside.

"What the heck…" Wolverine groaned.

"It's…Cleo!" Liz gasped. "It's…a warning! Something's wrong!"

Just then, Cleo's voice went through their heads.

_Get everyone out of the mansion. They're here._

The four didn't need to ask what was here. They knew.

The pain immediately left them and Wolverine was the first to stand. He spotted Rogue and a few of the other kids on the other side of the room. He ran to them and grabbed Rogue's arm. Rogue turned to look at him.

"Get out of here!" Wolverine ordered. "Find everybody and tell them to get out of the mansion. Use the backdoors or the tunnels. Get everybody out of here! Magneto's here!" The minute he said Magneto's name, everybody else looked up.

Rogue's eyes widened in fear and she nodded. She turned to the others. "Let's go! Get the kids!" They scattered and soon they were herding several kids out into the hallways.

Not a moment too soon.

A roar was heard, and Sabertooth crashed through the window. He growled and glanced at Wolverine.

Wolverine scowled. "You again." He shot out his claws and stepped forward. "Liz. Get the Professor out of here. Do it, now!"

Liz nodded and wheeled Xavier out of the room as fast as possible, Ana close behind.

Sabertooth noticed them and made to run to them, but to no avail. Wolverine blocked his way and shot his claws into Sabertooth's gut.

Sabertooth roared and the two were soon engaged in a one-on-one battle.

Meanwhile, Liz was wheeling Xavier as fast as she could. She glanced at Ana. "Where's Cleo?"

"I think she's in her room still. She's been in there since this morn…eeeyaaaahhh!" A long, slimy tongue wrapped around her waist and she was pulled up to the ceiling.

"ANA!!" Liz screamed. She looked up and immediately spotted Toad with a grin on his face. "Professor, get out of here!" Liz growled and jumped upwards towards the ceiling. "Let my sister go!" She got a hold of his tongue and dug her nails deep into the soft slimy flesh.

Toad screamed in agony and immediately let go.

Ana screamed as she fell to the ground. Liz caught her right before she crashed. Then she ran through the door she had seen the Professor go through.

She spotted the Professor boarding the elevator. "Wait, Professor!" She picked up her pace, her sister still in her arms. She got into the elevator right before the door closed on her.

"Whew!" Liz muttered, putting her sister down. "That was close!"

"I wonder why Toad grabbed Ana and not you," the Professor replied.

"I don't know, but he had better watch it next time. He'll be dead if he lays his slimy tongue on her again."

The elevator door opened to reveal the second floor of the mansion and Cleo waiting for them.

Cleo grabbed Liz and Ana and yanked them out of the elevator. She then grabbed the handles to Charles's wheelchair and wheeled him out of the elevator and into the girls' bedroom. She locked the door and drew the curtains.

"It won't be long until they find us," Cleo muttered. "Where's the kids? Did they take the tunnels out of here?"

"Most likely," Liz answered. "What's the matter, sis? We can take them."

Cleo sighed. "No, we can't."

"What are you talking about?" Liz asked. "You're stronger than them."

Cleo shook her head and ran her hand through her hair. "I can't wield any of my power, except for talking mind to mind, and that's useless in this situation."

This shocked the other three.

"What?!" Ana and Liz replied in unison.

"I didn't think that it would be that bad," Cleo muttered. She sighed and continued. "Draining Rogue's power took a lot more out of me than I thought, and it's taking a lot of will power to keep her power as well as mine in check. Too much will power that I can't do anything."

"You've gotta be kidding," Liz muttered.

"I've never done this before," Cleo muttered. "If I had practiced this before, maybe it would've been different, but the opportunity never quite showed up."

A crash could be heard out in the hallway.

"They're here." Cleo turned to Ana and whispered urgently, "Quickly. See if the cards say anything to you."

"I already have," Ana muttered. "They said the Queen of Diamonds and Black Joker. We have a hunch on what that means."

"Something's gonna happen to you," Cleo whispered, figuring the two cards out remarkably quickly. "Dang it."

"Are you sure about that?" Xavier spoke up. Another crash was heard. Whoever was outside in the hallway was kicking each and every door open to see if there was anybody there.

"Can you think of anything else?" Cleo asked. "She's the third child of a strong mutant bloodline. The Queen of Diamonds is the third strongest card in the deck."

Another crash.

"Well, we have to get her out of here," Xavier muttered. He looked out through the tightly drawn curtains. "No one is outside as of right now. The only thing we can do is jump out through the window and hope for the best."

"I don't know if that's the greatest idea," Cleo hesitated.

"It's the only way," Liz argued. She went to the window, opened the curtains, and opened the window. "Ana. You first." She looked up at Cleo as Ana scrambled out onto the roof. "I'll carry the Professor. I can carry him down."

"Fine."

Liz walked over to the Professor as another crash sounded – this one nearer. She slowly lifted him up out of the chair and helped him through the window. She then scrambled out and jumped down to the ground, holding the Professor in her arms. She landed on her feet and looked up. "C'mon, Cleo!"

Cleo crawled out through the window and jumped, just before the door to her bedroom was broken open. Sabertooth roared as he looked out the window. He went through the window and was about to jump off the roof when Wolverine lunged at him, after also crawling through the window. They continued to fight on the rooftop.

"C'mon." Cleo grabbed Liz's arm. "Let's get out of here. Ana." Ana jumped into her big sister's outstretched arms and Liz and Cleo carried the other two towards a group of trees where Rogue and several of the other mutants were hiding.

"AAHHH!!" Cleo screamed as a metal tranquilizer jabbed at her leg. She tripped as she felt her leg go numb and dropped Ana in the process.

Cleo squeezed her leg and looked up to see Magneto walking towards her.

"Cleo!" Rogue ran to her and helped her up to her feet. Cleo groaned in the effort, and leaned on Rogue for support.

"Ah, Cleo." Magneto had caught up to them, and the two girls found themselves trapped, with Mystique behind them, blocking their way to the trees.

Magneto smiled. "It's been quite a long time since we last had a chat. How have you been doing?"

Cleo scowled. "I'll kill you for everything you've done."

Magneto gave a mock expression of pity. "I'm sorry to hear that. Very sorry."

"Rogue," Cleo muttered. "We've gotta run. We can't stay here."

"I…I can't." Rogue's breathing started to become short and frantic. She was panicking.

Cleo let out her breath in a frustrated sigh.

"Well, since I see you don't want us here," Magneto started, "I'll just come to get what I want. Toad."

Toad jumped from behind Magneto and shot his tongue out at Ana.

Ana screamed as she was lifted into the air.

"Ana!!!" Cleo and several others shouted. Cleo looked at Magneto with fury in her eyes. "Let her go! Don't you dare take her! You'll be sorry if you do!"

"Too late." Magneto smiled and turned on his heel. Mystique quickly caught up to him and they walked away from them.

"Ta ta, Cleo! We shall see you soon!" Magneto turned to look up at the roof of the mansion. "Sabertooth, let's go."

Sabertooth growled, but gave Wolverine one last punch in the gut before he jumped down to follow the others out of the mansion gates.

Wolverine rolled off the roof and was almost about to hit the ground, before Cleo held out her arm and stopped his fall. She slowly let him down to the ground where he lay unconscious.

Liz and the Professor were shocked. Cleo had told them that she couldn't use her power.

"Cleo…" Liz started.

"That…was…the last…straw…" Cleo mumbled. She started to breathe hard and fell to her knees once more, her leg still numb from Magneto's tranquilizer. She slowly lifted up her head. Magneto and his group were gone, as if they had never been there. "Ana…" This was the last word out of her mouth. She fell forward, unconscious.

"Cleo!" Liz knelt down beside her sister as Rogue did the same. "C'mon, Cleo. Get up. You can't be knocked out now. We need you're help. Cleo. Cleo!" As much as she shook her sister, she was knocked out cold.

"Leave her be, Elizabeth," Xavier muttered as he watched from where he was sitting on the ground. "We can't do much now. We must get much of the repairs done and wait for Beast, Cyclops, and Storm to come back. Kurt. Could you do me a favor and get my wheelchair from the girls' bedroom?"

Nightcrawler nodded and teleported away and back again, with the wheelchair in his arms. He set it down and helped the Professor back into it. The Professor wheeled himself to Liz. "Come. We must get everything back to normal. Rogue. I want you and several others, including Liz, to gather the rest of the children back here. I want them all here and accounted for. Kurt, let's try to clean a bit of this mess." The Professor glanced at Liz, who hadn't moved from where she was sitting beside her fallen sister. "Liz."

Liz's voice was barely over a whisper as she spoke, to no one in particular. "She pushed herself over her limits. She pushed herself too hard. She can't do that. She knows she shouldn't do that…"

The Professor had a hunch that there was something else behind her words, but didn't say anything. He just sadly sighed, glanced at Cleo, and wheeled away, Nightcrawler following.


	13. Howl of the Night

**Chapter 13: Howl of the Night**

By: Galadeidre

_It has started…_

She looked up into the cloudy sky.

_She will lose control…_

_She is not ready…_

She had felt her pain and anguish for a split second, before it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. She had drained most of her energy. She had exceeded her limits.

_How much longer…_

Her eyes burned with a mixture of sadness and anger. She knew it was very soon.

She floated away and through the forest.

* * *

_Cleo. Cleo…_

Someone whispered her voice over and over again through her head. She squirmed and slowly opened her eyes.

The Professor looked down at her and gave a smile. _Glad to see that you are awake._

Cleo yawned and looked around. _Where am I?_ She didn't need an answer. The minute she had asked the question, she realized where she was, and everything came flooding back to her. She shot up in bed, making the Professor jump. "Ana." She spoke out loud. "Where's Ana?"

Xavier's smile turned to a frown.

Cleo read it as clear as broad daylight and her eyes widened for a split second. Then they narrowed and she scowled. "Why aren't you looking for her?" she hissed.

"We are. Actually, we have been for the past six days. You were knocked out cold for quite a long time, as you've just realized." There was a sound of several sets of footsteps walking their way and Xavier looked behind him. "And I believe that they've just returned from their search."

Indeed, they had. Cyclops came in, followed by the rest of the older Xmen, including Rogue, Bobby, and Liz.

"Cleo…" Liz breathed as she realized that her older sister had finally awakened.

"It's a relief to see you awake once more," Nightcrawler spoke up. The others murmured and nodded in agreement.

Cleo only scowled even more. "Thanks for worrying about me, but what about Ana?"

"Cleo," Liz spoke up softly. She walked towards her sister and held out her hand, which held something in it – Ana's complete deck.

Cleo didn't say a word. She slowly took the deck from her sister and held it in both of her hands.

"She left them like bread crumbs for us to follow," Beast explained. "Unfortunately, she didn't have enough cards to play as crumbs for the complete trail."

Liz's voice shook as she softly said, "Magneto's good. We couldn't even follow the scent."

Cleo didn't speak and nobody else wanted to speak, either. They all just stood where they were, not sure of what to do next.

Cleo's hands slowly moved. She placed the deck gently on the blanket on her bed and her hands clenched into fists. She drew her breath in and out slowly and continued this for a few seconds. Then, slowly, she unclenched her fists and her breathing became silent. Finally, she spoke. "Rogue. I believe you want the whole of your mutant powers back."

Rogue slowly gave a nod and stepped forward. "I…I didn't know how scared I'd be. I'm sorry, Cleo. I was just so scared. I couldn't…I couldn't move when…when he came towards us. It just suddenly hit me that…that I didn't have any powers anymore…"

"As I've said before," Cleo muttered quietly and calmly, "you soon start to rely on your powers more often. Curse or gift, you depend on them if you don't have enough training. You can feel your powers coming back, though, right?"

"Yeah. I can feel it inside of me. It's small, and I can still touch for a decent amount of time before my powers kick in…"

"But you'd like it all back?"

Rogue nodded.

"Hold out your hands again. I have a feeling that it's gonna hurt even more this time. My powers are gonna drain you fast of your energy, but I need to get just enough energy from you to transfer your powers back in full. This is gonna be harder for me to do, so brace yourself."

Rogue nodded again and slowly held out her hands. Cleo sighed and touched her fingertips onto the palms of Rogue's hands.

Cleo was right. It did hurt much more. Cleo's draining abilities plus the powers that she had acquired from Rogue fought to drain all of Rogue's energy at an amazing rate. Rogue screamed and almost fell to her knees. Bobby ran to her and helped her stay upright. Rogue continued to scream for a few more seconds.

"Hang…on…Rogue…" Cleo muttered through clenched teeth. She was trying to hold back as much of the power as she could so as not to kill the young mutant. "Almost…done…" And it was almost done. Cleo finally acquired enough energy to slowly transfer Rogue's power back to her. As she did so, the veins that had started to pop out on Rogue's skin died away and soon it was Cleo's veins that could be seen. At this point, Cleo pulled her fingers away from Rogue's palms, and they both just stared at each other, breath ragged.

"I'm…gonna work…on that…" Cleo huffed. Rogue nodded and smiled. "Thanks…"

Their breathing soon calmed down and Bobby let go of Rogue.

Xavier glanced at Cleo. "Are you feeling better?"

"Much." Cleo stretched out her arms and jumped out of bed, which didn't quite surprise any of them. She looked up at them all after she had stretched her whole body. Even though she had her powers back, they could still tell that she was drained. Something had changed in her, too. She didn't seem calm anymore. She seemed…tense…

"Charles, is the mansion fixed for the most part?" Cleo asked.

The Professor nodded. "A few holes here and there, but we'll manage."

"What about the Danger Room? We're gonna need that area."

"It's running well."

"Good. I'll fix the rest of the mansion up. It shouldn't take long. Then, I want some of you guys to come with me and I want to see the trail that you followed with Ana's cards. I do hope you remember the pathway." The others nodded. "Wonderful. Liz, you stay here."

"But…"

"I want you to practice your fighting skills, especially defense and getting yourself out of someone's grip. If you want, have Logan go with you."

"You might need my help, though," Wolverine reasoned.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I can track down stuff with my senses. You and Liz aren't the only ones with a keen sense of smell, if you haven't yet realized."

"Your powers?" Wolverine asked.

"Duh." Cleo rolled her eyes. "Besides, it'll give Liz a good run for her money. Rogue. You stay here so you can recuperate. Bobby, stay with her. I'll take the rest."

"Cleo," Charles started. "Are you sure you're all right? You were, after all, passed out for a good several days."

"I'm the best I'm gonna get at this point." She glanced at the Professor. "Besides, I just can't sit here. I need to see the trail that they took Ana for myself." With that settled, she walked out of the room to repair the rest of the damage that had not yet been fixed. Liz walked off to the Danger Room followed by Logan and Storm and Bobby helped Rogue up to her room.

The Professor watched them all leave and sighed. His mind was in deep thought. "What are you hiding, Cleo…"

* * *

"Yaahhhh!" Liz lunged for Logan and tried to kick him in the air. Logan dodged it and stumbled as he almost fell backwards. "Take it easy there, kid! You're gonna kill me with that attitude."

Liz wasn't paying attention. She took a deep breath and ran towards him. When she neared him, she started to punch at him. Luckily, Wolverine could block most of them.

They practiced for several more minutes before Logan stopped to wipe the sweat off his brow. "Let's rest a sec, Liz. You're giving me a workout." He was panting.

Liz was no better. "I can't stop. I gotta keep practicing. How am I supposed to get any better if I rest?"

"You'll tire yourself out much faster if you don't."

Liz couldn't argue with that, so she sighed and dropped to the floor, her legs crossed. She took a deep breath, let it out, dropped her head into her hands, and was silent.

Logan knew what she was thinking and sat down beside her. He gently placed his arm on her back. "C'mon, Liz. It isn't the end of the world, you know. And nobody really knows if she's gone yet. I mean, Cleo hasn't said anything about Ana, so that's most likely a good sign."

"You don't know her," Liz muttered, her voice muffled through her fingers. "She sometimes won't say the truth."

This came as a slight shock to Logan. "What do you mean by that? You sound like you're accusing your sister of something bad."

"I'm not." Liz sighed and lifted her head up. She stared at the ground as she spoke, "Maybe it's a good thing that she doesn't tell sometimes. I don't know really why, but I guess it's just all for the best. She has a lot on her mind these days…"

Logan had a hunch that she had spoken a little too much, but decided to probe further, curious as he was. "What do you think is on her mind, huh? My guess is that it would be Ana."

"Don't ask, Logan. I don't want to talk about it."

_Dang._ Logan thought to himself. _She realized what I was doing._ He chuckled. "Sorry. I guess I'm just a bit worried for all of you kids. You seem to be handling a little too much."

"Not me. It's Cleo that's been burdened with a lot, but I don't want to talk about that." The young werewolf mutant sighed and stood up. "I'm gonna get a bit of fresh air, before I turn in for the night. You wanna come?"

"Sure."

* * *

"Here. You'd better drink something. You look a bit dehydrated." Bobby handed Rogue a glass of water and sat down beside her.

"Thanks." Rogue gave a small smile. "I feel dehydrated." She drained the whole content of the glass and set it back down.

Bobby watched her as she did this. "Are you dehydrated because of that…thing that happened between you and Cleo?"

"I'd guess so. Her powers are beyond amazing."

Bobby nodded and was silent for a while before he asked another question. "Did it…did it hurt? You screamed pretty loudly. Was it that bad?"

Rogue slowly nodded. "It was terrifying. I felt like I was dying. I guess…I guess that's how it felt when I drained you and all the others?"

"It wasn't that bad. I just got kinda scared."

"You're lying."

Bobby sighed. "Maybe it was a bit more than that. It was as if I couldn't control myself anymore. I couldn't move because I was so weak."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. I'm alive aren't I?" Bobby gave a smile and Rogue smiled back. After that, they were silent once more.

"Bobby?"

"Hmm?"

"When I drain somebody…well…I can…I can kinda read their mind for a time."

"Yeah?"

"Well…when I drained Cleo the first time…well…I…I didn't see anything. Her mind was blank. I think she was blocking it from me, 'cause she knew that I could do that and…well…I think there's something that she's hiding from us."

"I wouldn't be too surprised. We hardly know the first thing about her. The Prof said that they liked their solitude."

"Yeah…" she continued to speak, "but this last time…when she transferred my powers back…there was something else. Bobby, I didn't just scream because I was in pain."

Bobby cocked an eyebrow. "What are you saying, Rogue?"

"I…I saw something. It was dark at first, but then as I kept staring into that darkness, a…a huge fireball or something came towards me. It came fast and it was like it hit me and burned me. I…I know it was just in the mind, but it felt so real…I've never felt anything like that before. Right when that imaginary fireball hit me, that was when the pain started and that's why I screamed. It scared me a lot."

Bobby was speechless. "Rogue…are you sure?"

Rogue nodded. "But let's keep it quiet for now. I…I don't want anybody to know, especially not Cleo. Not yet. I know she reads minds. Who knows. She might already know about this. But let's just keep quiet for now."

Bobby hated the idea, but nodded his head. "All right. For now, we'll keep it quiet."

Rogue sighed. "Thank you, Bobby. She squeezed his hand and looked out the window. "It's already night. I'm gonna get some sleep."

"Here. I'll walk you to your room."

"Thanks."

They both stood up, but then Rogue gasped.

"Rogue? Rogue?"

Rogue put her hands on the sides of her head and looked out the window to the moon. "I still have a little bit of Cleo's powers in me…there's something comin'…"

"What? What's coming? Rogue?"

Rogue didn't answer. All she did was just squint at the night sky for a few seconds.

Suddenly a warning shot through her head and she immediately knew what it was.

"Bobby, get down! Now!"

The two mutants ducked – and not a moment too soon.

The glass window shattered as something huge flung itself straight through.

Sabertooth growled as he crashed into the wall. Another roar was heard and Wolverine jumped through the broken window as well. He grew out his claws and dug them straight into his nemesis's stomach. Sabertooth gave a growl of pain, but swiftly swiped at Wolverine's face, making him fly backwards several feet.

A howl was heard, and Liz jumped through the broken window. She immediately spotted Sabertooth and lunged at him with a low snarl.

Sabertooth grinned as Liz landed on him. "Here, little puppy…"

Liz scowled and started punching his face like there was no tomorrow. "You're gonna regret calling me that, you overgrown…filthy…slimy…son of a…bucket o'…barf-smellin'…no good…"

The young werewolf kept on punching and muttering under her breath. Sabertooth surprising allowed her, with a few groans here and there.

Wolverine didn't like the look of what was going on. He got up with a groan and started towards Liz. "Liz…get off…it's not right…"

Liz wasn't listening. She was so engrossed in beating the stuffing out of Sabertooth that she didn't hear him – and she didn't notice Sabertooth smile through the punches.

"Later…puppy…"

Liz roared in anger and started to beat him twice as badly, if that was possible. Unfortunately, she couldn't recognize what was happening.

Wolverine smelled him just as Rogue sensed him.

"LIZ!" they both shouted in warning.

Too late. A large ball of metal flew straight at Liz, knocking her senseless. Sabertooth caught her before she fell to the ground and ran towards the broken window.

Wolverine shot straight for him, knocking him off his feet and making him drop Liz. The two started to fight.

"Rogue! Bobby! Get her out of here and find the Professor! Now!" The two young mutants immediately obeyed and ran out of the room, carrying Liz with them.

Wolverine made sure that they had left the room safely and turned to Sabertooth. "You're all mine, bub."

Sabertooth grinned. "Wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

Cleo gasped and shot her head up. She turned her head around and looked towards the horizon.

"Cleo?" Beast asked. "Is something the matter?"

"Something's wrong with Liz." She continued to stare out into the landscape. "We've gotta go back."

"But we just got here and we haven't finished following the trail." Cyclops argued.

"Forget the trail," she answered turning to the one-eyed mutant. "They need us back home."

"How do you know that?" Cyclops asked.

Cleo scowled. "Because I do."

* * *

"Rogue!" Nightcrawler called as he suddenly appeared out of thin air beside Rogue and Bobby.

"Nightcrawler! Where's the Professor?" Rogue asked.

"He is in the library area! I'll take you there. What is happening?"

"Magneto's back! We gotta get Liz to safety!" Bobby answered.

"All right! Hold my hands!" The two young mutants each grabbed hold of one of his hands with their free hands, Liz in between them. Nightcrawler closed his eyes and whisked them away to the library. In a matter of seconds, they had been transported right at the Professor's feet.

"Bobby. What's happening?" Charles asked the minute they had appeared.

"They're back," Bobby answered.

"I think they want Liz," Rogue piped up. She looked down at Liz, who was still unconscious. "Professor, what are we gonna do? Cleo and the others aren't here."

"I'll send them a message. Until then, we'll just have to fight ourselves. But I want you two to make sure that all the children are all right." Rogue and Bobby nodded and immediately set out to search for the other children.

The Professor glanced at Nightcrawler. "Kurt, be ready. Who knows what will happen."

"We must have faith and believe that the others will be here in time."

"It's all we can really do right now." Charles gave the mutant one quick glance and began to concentrate. _Cleo…_

_They're there, aren't they?_ came the immediate response.

_Yes. _

_We're on our way back right now. _

_Do hurry. Why do you think they have come again?_

Cleo didn't answer as quickly this time.

_Cleo?_ the Professor asked.

_Magneto's finishing up his mission. _

_Which is what?_

_I think he's trying to get Liz. He knew I would be gone._

_Rogue had that same hunch._

_She still has some of my powers. No wonder she knows. _

_Yes. You had better hurry on home._

_Protect Liz._

_I'll try._

_Don't try. Do it._ With that said, the conversation ended.

Charles glanced at the closed library doors. He was getting a rather queer feeling. "There's somebody behind the door. Nightcrawler, get ready." Nightcrawler nodded.

The door suddenly smashed open and in stepped Toad. He immediately spotted Liz and slashed out his tongue to grab her.

Nightcrawler did some quick thinking and teleported right in front of Liz, blocking her from Toad's long, slimy tongue. Toad gathered his tongue back and gave a grin. "You can't stop me."

"Maybe not," Nightcrawler muttered. "But he can." He glanced at the Professor and Toad followed his gaze.

Charles was looking straight at him, and in a matter of seconds, Toad was under the Professor's control and was walking out the doors that he had come in from.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Charles."

The Professor glanced at the figure that had walked towards Toad. "Magneto…"

Magneto smiled. "It's good to see you again, too, old friend."

"What do you want with these children?"

"Oh, I don't really want the children, Charles. I'm thinking much larger and grander than that." He gave another all-knowing smile.

Charles's eyes widened. "What are you planning to do?"

"You'll see soon enough. Now, I'd hand over the girl, if I were you."

Nightcrawler turned around and scooped up Liz into his arms, holding her close. "You will never have this child."

"Mr. Wagner, you forget. I already have the other child. Mystique is taking care of her, but if you don't hand over the wolf-child, well, Mystique might just have to kill the little Ace of the Deck." He smiled again.

Nightcrawler glanced at the Professor. "Professor. What must I do?"

The Professor was having as much trouble as Nightcrawler was in making a choice. He decided to try and stall. "Eric. Please. Why are they so important? You know very well that they won't follow your orders. It would only be a matter of time before Cleo found your hideout and came straight for you with a vengeance. You and I both know that she has a temper and is over-protective of her family."

"Which is exactly why I'm doing it." There was silence after Magneto spoke this. He purposely waited to let the truth sink into his old friend and nemesis.

The problem was, it wasn't sinking in.

Charles narrowed his eyes slightly and shook his head. "I don't think I completely understand what you're trying to do, Eric. You're trying to anger her? What will you accomplish with that?"

It was Magneto's turn to seem confused. "You mean to tell me that she has never told you, either?" His confused expression didn't last long, and pretty soon he was shaking his head and clicking his tongue with a smile. "That's quite unfortunate. Say, I'll give you a little hint, Charles. I'm sure that you know that she likes to keep quite a few secrets."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just listen, friend. As I've said before, she has many secrets. Some are quite well hidden from view and from the mind, especially one in particular…which I happen to know about."

"And what secret is that?"

"Now, now, Charles. If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret anymore. Besides, I only know about it because I just so happened to stumble across the other that shares her secret."

"You're not making any sense, Eric."

"Now who said I was supposed to make sense, eh?"

Just as he said this, there was a roar and Sabertooth and Wolverine fell through the wall and into the library.

Wolverine immediately took in the scene that he beheld and quickly dug his claws into Sabertooth's stomach once more. A gaping wound that was open and bleeding on his cheek was slowly starting to close up, thanks to his tremendous healing powers.

"What's goin' on here?" Wolverine asked. "A party that I wasn't invited to?"

"Quite the contrary, Logan," Magneto answered. "I was just merely explaining my plan to Charles here."

"Plan? What plan?"

"I'm sure you'll know soon enough." He took out a small phone and began to dial a number. "I would think fast if I were you, Charles. What do you think Cleo would want you to do? Give the werewolf and spare both their lives or let one live for another day, but let the other die this very moment. I'm connecting to Mystique as we speak. Ah, here she is. Mystique, dear. Is the little one with you? Wonderful. Get ready, dear. If Charles isn't smart, we may just need to do a bit of…rearranging." He looked at his watch. "Come, come, Charles. I haven't got all day. Is there a sort of weapon with you, Mystique?"

"All right," Charles muttered. "But you had better promise to take care of both those two."

"Of course, Charles. I wouldn't want to anger her…too much." He smiled and glanced at Nightcrawler, who had not moved an inch since Magneto appeared. "Now, if you would be very kind as to hand her over."

"This is not right," Nightcrawler muttered under his breath. "We must not do this, Professor."

"I'm sorry, Kurt, but we have no other choice."

"Choice?" Wolverine scowled. He had caught on to the drift of the conversation easily enough. "Who said we needed a choice? Let's just destroy the whole of their group."

"I wouldn't do that," Magneto replied. He put the phone back to his ear. "Mystique, could you get little Ana on the phone for a moment?"

"Ana…" Wolverine whispered. There was a short silence before a wail and a sniff could be heard through the phone.

"CLEO! LIZ! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS! I DON'T WANNA BE HERE ANYMORE!" Mystique could be heard muffling the little girl's voice after she had said this.

"Ana…" Wolverine muttered again. He stumbled forward, but was stopped in his tracks by Magneto.

"Ah, ah, ah. Careful what you do, Logan. It might just end little Ana's life." He glanced back at Nightcrawler. "Now, the girl."

Nightcrawler sighed and slowly walked towards Magneto, Liz still unconscious in his arms.

Magneto gave a glance at Liz, then at Toad, and then at the Professor. "If it would be all right, Charles. I do slightly need his help."

The Professor didn't move for a moment more. Finally, he slowly blinked his eyes and Toad was out of his control. Toad gave a few blinks and shook his head.

"Toad, take the girl," Magneto ordered once Toad was back to himself. Toad did as he was told and took Liz out of Nightcrawler's arms. Nightcrawler slightly hesitated while she was being transferred to the enemy mutant.

"Well, that was easy enough, now wasn't it?" Magneto asked with a smile.

Wolverine scowled. "If you do _anything_ to her…"

"Calm down, Logan. I'm not planning anything with her…yet." He smiled again and turned around, touching the tip of his fingers to his forehead. He gave a glance at Charles's direction as he turned to leave. "Until we meet again, Charles…which I have no doubt in my mind will be soon." With that said, he turned and left, Toad and Sabertooth right behind him.

Wolverine started to follow and the Professor and Nightcrawler followed him.

"Logan, what are you planning to do?" Nightcrawler asked.

"I don't trust him. I'm gonna make sure he doesn't do anything to Liz."

Just as Magneto stepped out through the front door and into the front lawn, a laser beam shot right in front of his foot.

"You'd better drop her, Magneto," Cyclops warned. His finger was at the side of his mutant shades, ready to turn the dial to shoot out his power. Storm, Beast, and Cleo were standing beside him.

"We're warning you, Eric," Cleo muttered. Her voice was colder than ice and her hands were getting ready to gather her power to attack.

Magneto smiled and nodded at Cleo. "Cleopatra Elesa Berane." He gave a chuckle. "I always did enjoy saying your name."

Cleo's eyes narrowed. "Give both of my sisters back."

"Now, now, Cleo. Do you actually think that I'm going to just hand them over just like that? It comes at a price you know."

"Eric, I'm warning you. If you don't hand over both my sisters right now…"

"I can assure you that Ana is just fine. Liz here, once she wakes up, will be all right, too. Say, why don't you just come over to where we're staying right now? We can chat then."

"I don't 'chat' with the likes of you."

"No? Well, then. It looks like I'll be on my way." He held out his hand, which held three small balls of metal. Using his powers, he stretched out the balls, turning them into flat discs. All three of them, Magneto, Sabertooth, and Toad, stepped on each disc.

Cleo stepped forward, her hands starting to glow. Her face was a look of complete fury, but she kept her emotions in check and bottled them in herself. "Drop her – now."

"You're too weak yet, Cleo. What can you accomplish with only less than half of your power?"

Nightcrawler almost choked. "She is only at half strength?"

Bobby, who had appeared with Rogue and the other kids through the front door a few moments ago, was watching with intent. All the kids were sticking close to the walls of the mansion.

Magneto smiled again. "Tata, Cleo." The discs started to float up into the sky.

Cleo scowled and gave a shout as she lunged the largest fireball she could muster. Unfortunately, since she was only at half strength, her largest fireball was quite small in size. It was only as large as a basketball and quite weak.

Magneto gave a quick glance at it and shot out a large piece of metal to block it from them as they flew higher. The fireball couldn't even melt the piece of metal. It just dissipated once it hit it. Magneto kept the metal where it was floating. "I told you that you were weak. You should rest for a couple of days. Your power will come back soon, I'm sure."

Either it was what Magneto said or it was the realization that she had lost both her sisters. Maybe it was both and maybe it was a different reason all together. Whatever the reason, though, it seemed that Cleo's last nerve had snapped. There was no stopping her now as she muttered, "I don't need rest…"

All the other mutants, though none of them had the ability to sense mutant powers rising, immediately noticed a change in Cleo. It was a change that they didn't know if they should accept or reject.

Cyclops, Storm, and Beast quickly scooted over to where the Professor and the other mutants were standing.

"Professor…," Cyclops started.

"Are you trying to contact her through the mind?" Storm asked.

"I'm trying." The Professor's eyes were closed. "But I can't seem to contact her. Either she's blocking me out of her mind…or she doesn't have the mind communication anymore."

"What do you mean by that?" Wolverine asked. "That she's a different person all together?"

"I don't know."

Cleo had bowed her head down and her hair was blocking her face from view. Magneto had stopped the discs and was just floating with the other two in the air. He, though, had a different expression on his face – pure delight. "It has happened…" Sabertooth and Toad were watching with a bit of confusion in their faces.

Rogue could feel it welling up inside of her. The anger that was boiling over in Cleo was making her stomach churn. But something else was bothering her. There seemed to be a small voice inside her head, similar to her conscious, but wasn't, that was telling her something. She closed her eyes and gripped her head trying to listen carefully to what was being said. It took her about a minute before she was able to comprehend the voice, and once she had understood the words, she opened her eyes and jerked her head upwards. "Magneto! Get out of the way! She'll burn you alive!"

Magneto instinctively moved from where he was floating, but to no avail. A split second before Rogue's warning had shot out, Cleo had thrust her hand upward, aiming at Magneto. In less then five seconds, a fireball about five times larger than the previous one and several hundred times stronger shot at Magneto from Cleo's hand at an amazing rate.

"Eric!" Charles cried out just as Wolverine muttered, "Liz…" All they could do was watch as the fireball neared the four mutants.

Rogue glanced at Cleo and was shocked at what she saw. Instead of the black abyss eyes and a grim smile, Rogue saw a pair of bright flame-orange eyes and a grin so malicious it sent a shiver down her spine. "Cleo!" Rogue screamed. "Cleo, snap out of it! You're gonna burn them all!"

Cleo must have heard, for her eyes widened and she immediately took in the scene. Her face turned to complete shock and horror before she forced the fireball to veer off-course with all of her power. The fireball was angled just slightly, but slight enough to miss Magneto and the others by a few inches.

Magneto was a bit petrified by this, but he quickly regained his composure. "I think that's our cue to leave." He turned and floated away into the sky, the others following him.

"No…," Cleo whispered. She lifted her arm up to where they were disappearing into the night sky. Her knees gave way as she lifted her arm, and she fell face-forward into the grass. "Please…no…"

"We have to go after them," Cyclops muttered as he started forward.

"No, Scott," the Professor replied. He looked at the now-unconscious Cleo. "We have to fix the mansion and get the other children to bed and also take care of Cleo. She doesn't look well."

Wolverine was the one to walk up to Cleo and carry her into the house. As he passed by Xavier, with Cleo in his arms, he asked the question all the others wanted answered: "What the hell happened to her just now?"

Unfortunately, the only one able to answer that question didn't even have the energy to open her eyes.


	14. A Phoenix's Emotions

**Chapter 14: A Phoenix's Emotions**

By: Galadeidre

A/N: Ok, so I think that this'll be one of the last chapters of explanation. I don't know if you're all gonna hate me for it now, but this chapter will answer some questions that you all might have had. Anyways, read on and please review!

* * *

"Storm," Charles spoke quietly as he looked up to see the adult mutants walk into the bedroom that the three sisters had shared. "Are all the children in bed?" Storm nodded.

"Good." He looked down at Cleo and sighed as he stroked her hand. There could be heard stifled gasps and sharp intakes of breath from the head of her bed. Cleo's head tossed and turned and she was sweating, but she didn't wake up.

"What's wrong with her?" Cyclops asked as he noticed her face cringe. "She wasn't doing anything like this when we brought her here about five hours ago."

"Well, it seems as if during those five hours she accumulated quite the fever," Beast remarked as he touched his blue furry hand onto her sweating brow. "How long has she been burning up, Professor?"

"About half an hour after you all left to fix the building and settle the children down. I haven't left her side since." Charles sighed, sounding like a weary old man right then. "I don't know if this fever is a good thing for her to have at the moment. She never gets sick, considering her mutant powers give her quite the immunity to almost all diseases and I can't even speak to her mind to mind. Either she's too weak and vulnerable, or she can't talk through her mind."

"I don't believe that she will die," Nightcrawler replied, his Germen-accented voice thick and soothing. "She has two little sisters to take care of. God willing, she will live."

Cleo drew in her breath and groaned. Then she started to mutter under her breath, "No…can't…no…stop…won't…control…no…don't…" It sounded like a losing battle to the other mutants and they feared for the worst.

As the Professor watched Cleo struggle, his mind began to form an idea. It was risky, he knew, but there was no other option. He quietly started to speak, "I've tried to read her mind, but she's blocked me out entirely. I can't get through to see anything that has happened to her in the past. Her mind barriers are enormously strong, weak as she is…but I think I know someone who will be able to get past that barrier. She's done it before, I believe…" As he said these last words, he looked up at Wolverine who immediately understood what he was trying to say.

Wolverine growled. "She's not risking her neck again. It might kill her."

The others had caught on pretty quickly. "And it might not. It's the only way, Logan," Cyclops argued.

"We've already pretty much lost three kids. I am _not_ going to lose Rogue. She hasn't been trained in this."

"Then you pretty much don't care for what happens to the other girls," Cyclops said.

"I didn't say that I don't care for them."

"Then why don't you let Rogue try it? If it's too much then we can have her stop."

"By that time she might already be dead!"

"Not if we watch her carefully!"

"Scott! Logan! Enough!" Xavier said. He sighed. "I've already called Rogue here. It will be for her to decide if she wants to risk doing this or not." As he said this, the door opened and Rogue and Bobby stepped inside wearing their pajamas.

"Rogue." Rogue stepped towards the professor. "I need your help, but I will not force this on you."

Before the Professor could say anymore, Rogue spoke, "You want me to see if I can absorb her powers so I might be able to read some of her mind and memory in the process." Rogue gasped as her hand shot up to her mouth. "I'm so sorry, Professor. I didn't mean to read your mind. I… I couldn't control it."

Charles smiled and shook his head. "It's all right. But this is up to you. If you don't do this, we wait until Cleo awakens."

Rogue seemed to already have made up her mind. "By then, it might be too late." She looked down at the fever-stricken mutant. "I owe her that much at least." She walked towards the bed, but was stopped by Wolverine. "Rogue…"

"I can do this, Logan," she replied in a hushed whisper. "I've got to…" She gave him a small smile and went to the side of the bed. _Hang on, Cleo._ With that, she slowly touched her fingertips onto Cleo's arm.

Immediately, Rogue's powers began to do their job. Cleo's veins showed quite clearly, considering that the sleeping mutant was very weak. Cleo's breath had stopped short once Rogue had touched her and Rogue's eyes were squeezed shut. There was an expression on Rogue's face that no one could quite comprehend. Was it horror? Pity? Shock? Rogue drew in her breath.

"Rogue?" Bobby asked quietly.

Rogue didn't answer. Instead, she dropped to her knees, her hand still on Cleo's arm, and gave one ear-piercing scream.

Her hand let go of Cleo's arm and she fell to the floor.

"No, Rogue…" Wolverine immediately fell to his knees to lift up Rogue's head. He gave her face a few small slaps as he repeated her name over and over again. Bobby, too, was kneeling beside her, unable to think of what to do.

After a few minutes of unbearable anticipation, Rogue gave a small groan.

Everybody let out their breaths. Apparently, everyone had been holding them.

Xavier wheeled himself to Rogue. "Rogue. I'm glad you're back. You gave us all a scare."

Rogue's eyes were still closed as she spoke. "What are you talking about? I'm not back."

Wolverine cocked an eyebrow. "Don't play with us, kid."

"I'm not." With that said, she opened up her eyes and Wolverine instinctively backed away, dropping her head as he stood up and pulled out his claws. "Rogue, what the heck is wrong with you?" Bobby had also stood up and backed away.

Rogue's eyes were not the rich brown color that they normally were. As she opened her eyes to them, she revealed eyes as black as an abyss and even blacker. Eyes that sucked you right in and seemed to know everything.

The Professor seemed to catch on a bit faster than the rest of them. "Cleo…" he whispered.

"Only for a short while," Cleo replied using Rogue's voice and body to give a grim smile. "Though I don't know if I like the idea of her having my memories. I was too weak to block her from some of them this time." Rogue sighed and shrugged her shoulders as Cleo continued to control her. She, Cleo, noticed Wolverine giving her a wary look. "Don't worry yourself to death, Logan. She'll be fine. I asked her if I could use her body to talk to you guys for a bit. It'll wear off pretty soon, considering she didn't absorb too much of my powers. I can only keep this up for a little while. It's taking a great deal to keep talking through her as it is."

"Well, whatever you need to say, you're gonna have to make it quick," Cyclops replied. All the others had started to get used to Cleo talking through Rogue.

"Well, I can tell you that I'm gonna be in this state for another day or so." She nodded towards her sleeping form that was still burning up. "I'm not used to getting sick, so this is gonna take me a while to recuperate…dang…I'm already losing my power to speak through Rogue. Gotta talk fast. I think it's time that you guys know something…haven't told anyone yet…'cept for the girls and B…tell ya later…going…"

"Wait!" Beast spoke up suddenly, which made Rogue jump slightly. "Cleo. Tell us. Where's Lex?"

Rogue cocked one eyebrow. "…he…gone…"

Beast's eyes narrowed. "You're going to have to explain that when you come back. He's not gone and you know it." This shocked the other mutants, besides Cyclops and Storms.

Rogue was silent and all thought that the communication through Rogue had broken, but they made their assumptions a little too soon.

"…later…"

With that, Rogue's eyes closed and she fell back onto the ground, unconscious.

* * *

_She has lost control…all too soon…_

She sighed as she felt the wind blow around her face and whip her red-brown hair about her. Her hair glistened as it caught the sun's afternoon rays. She looked up at the sun and stared straight at it. Her eyes began to glow like fire embers and she continued to stare at it for a moment longer.

Her whole body started to rise in temperature. She was like a fire, but still a human.

She stood up from where she had been sitting – a ledge that jutted straight out towards the ocean. In the far distance to her left, there could barely be seen the outline of the Statue of Liberty. A preserved forest stood behind her, cutting her from the view of civilization.

She made sure that no one was watching her and looked up at the sun once again.

Her whole body suddenly began to glow a fiery red-orange and she zoomed up towards the sun, absorbing every single ray that hit her.

_Control her…_

_You must not let her take over…_

She didn't know if she had heard her, but it was worth a try. They were linked together now. It was now her job to protect her and keep her from losing herself…

* * *

_You must not let her take over…control her…_

Her words repeated in Cleo's head over and over again like a broken record. She tossed and turned, unaware of where she was or what was happening around her. Slowly, though, reality started to settle around her and the voice started to fade away.

Cleo opened her eyes, afraid that she was going to retch out what little food that her stomach still contained.

She didn't.

She was in her bedroom, but nobody was there. She looked towards the window, noticing how light it was, and turned her head to see the clock.

Three thirty-seven.

Well, at least her brain had enough sense in it to realize that it was past three in the afternoon and not past three in the morning.

But how many days had she been sleeping? And could she even walk? Everything was still slightly swimming around her and she shook her head several times.

Slowly, she turned and tried to get out of her bed.

She got her feet placed down onto the floor, but that was about as far as she got. The minute she tried to stand, her knees buckled in, and she fell to the floor. Stubborn as she was, she wasn't going to give up. She had been through tougher situations than this.

Though being this weak and vulnerable was starting to get on her nerves.

She slowly pushed herself off the floor and made a slow progress to the door, silently hoping that somebody would be on the other side of the door to help her down to the living room.

* * *

Charles immediately sensed it and put his book down that he had been reading in the living room.

"Logan, do me a favor. Please check on Cleo for me."

Logan gave a small snort and turned to go upstairs muttering, "What's gonna be different? She's sick and is still probably sleeping."

He was wrong.

The minute he opened the door, Cleo looked up from where she was leaning on the wall beside the doorpost and muttered his name as she fell forward into his arms.

"Whoa, hang on there, Cleo. What the heck are you doing up anyhow? You're supposed to be resting."

"Not right now." Cleo's teeth started to chatter and she muttered, "Is there a blanket I can borrow? I'm really cold. I need to talk to everybody downstairs. Not here. I need to get out of the room for a while."

"Uh, sure. Here. It'll be faster if I carry you." Without waiting for an answer, which might have been a no, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her down the steps.

Nightcrawler walked around the corner and immediately noticed Wolverine with Cleo. "Cleo! It's absolutely wonderful that you're awake!"

"Thanks, Kurt. Do me a favor. Get the others and round them up into the living room."

Nightcrawler nodded and vanished in a puff of blue haze.

Wolverine gave a small grunt as he gently placed her down on one of the sofas and gave a swift glance at Xavier who wheeled himself towards the head of the sofa that Cleo was laying on. Cleo was shivering, and Wolverine found a soft afghan to put on top of her.

Only a minute or so passed before the other older Xmen came swiftly walking into the living room, including Bobby and Rogue. From what it looked like, Rogue had gained her strength back and was faring well.

"Cleo, you're awake. We're so very glad," Beast replied as he walked in. "How's your fever?"

"Not gone." Cleo's teeth chattered as she said this. "It's gonna take a little while longer, I think. How long have I been out?"

"Well, ever since you last spoke with us, which was through Rogue, I'd say that that was about a day and a half ago," Cyclops answered.

"That's not too bad."

Wolverine snorted. "Yeah, but we're still kinda waitin' for answers, here."

Cleo stared at him as her eyes darkened. "About that. I think it's time I told you the full truth. You all had better sit down. This might take me a while." They did sit, and Cleo spotted Rogue crossing her legs on the rug in front of her. "Rogue, you feeling better?"

Rogue nodded. "Much. It didn't take me long to gain my strength. It was kinda weird being controlled. I could hear everything you were saying and I could feel you moving my body and such, but I couldn't see your thoughts or anything. You speaking through me felt kinda…I don't know…hollow."

Cleo nodded. "Believe me. It was weird for me, too." She gazed at all of them in turn as she wrapped the afghan tighter around her and spoke. "As you said, Rogue, you couldn't see my thoughts." Cleo sighed. "I've had so many secrets hidden inside of me, and it's…it's gonna be difficult to tell them all to a bunch of people at once, so you're gonna have to bear with me. This is a longer story than you may think…but it'll answer all of your questions."

"Well, we have the whole afternoon and more if need be," the Professor replied softly with a smile.

"Yeah…" Cleo sighed again and looked down at the afghan as she started to speak.

"Have you guys ever wondered if there was anything beyond our planet? Beyond our solar system?"

"We think about that for sure," Storms spoke.

"Yeah, well, there is…or _was_ life before. I don't know if there is now." Several pairs of eyes looked at her, confused, which she had to smile at. "There used to be a planet that consisted only of phoenixes. It's several thousand galaxies away, billions of lightyears from us. If I remember correctly, all the phoenixes are ranked in different levels, depending on their lineage and strength or power."

"And how do you know this?" Cyclops asked.

"I'm getting to that. Well, it just so happened that about a century ago, I think, there was a huge sort of collision that destroyed their planet, and with them practically all of the phoenixes. Only a handful survived and were scattered throughout the whole entirety of space, either to die away or land somewhere that was habitable. They could travel a long period of time without dying and had sort of a special technique of sorts."

"Which was?" Logan asked.

"Well, it wasn't quite a special technique. More like a desperate act of survival. See, the only place they could actually live in their true phoenix form was on their home planet and a select few others that were hot enough. Since not all planets were burning infernos, like theirs, they formed a kind of adaptation that they could use if needed, which had to do with residing within someone or something.

"I'm gonna switch gears a bit. As I've said before, phoenixes can travel for a long period of time, if need be. It soon came to about the twentieth century, our time. I was nine then. My best friend, Byron Grey, was eleven."

"Byron Grey…" Cyclops had a confused expression on his face. "Byron…is he…"

Cleo nodded. "He's one of Jean's first cousins." The others just stared at her in a state of shock.

"I've known him since I was five, where we met at the gathering I told you two about." Cleo nodded in the direction of Storm and Rogue. "Before I get into that, I think I had better tell you something else, before Cyclops kills me for not answering his question."

"My question?" Cyclops asked confused. "What was my question?"

"Do you recall asking why the heck we didn't consider ourselves mutants like you?"

"Oh, that one."

"Yeah, well, I still will say it again. We aren't mutants like you, and I'll tell you why. Mutants have actually been in existence for a long time now. Ever since the beginning pretty much. It was slight at first, and not many would consider themselves mutants, but there were a scarce few. In time, the scarce few got ever so larger, until now, where we have hundreds of mutants walking about around normal people. Some ancestral lines either knew about their mutation or by chance married only other mutants. Nobody knows for sure, but there were several ancient family lines that are all filled with mutant blood."

"Ah, I've heard about that before," Beast remarked. "They were considered Purebreds by other scientists. I didn't know if it was quite scientifically true, though."

"Believe me, Hank," Cleo replied, "it's as true as you and I are mutants." She sighed and continued on. "Yeah, we were known as Purebreds, to the scarce few that knew of our lineage. Though how much that name made as sound like a type of dog, the name stuck. My sisters and I come from one of the only two lasting lineages that are purebred – not a single drop of pure human blood in us."

"Which may explain why you and your sisters are so amazingly strong," Storm said.

"That's one of the main reasons, yes."

"You said that you were one of the two last lines of purebreds," Beast replied.

Cleo nodded. "And we may be the last children left that are purebreds. The other line is, well, it's Byron's ancestral line."

"The Grey family?" Cyclops spoke up. "So that would have made Jean a purebred…"

Cleo shook her head. "Not necessarily. If I remember correctly, her father was the purebred. Yes, she had mutant powers, but her grandmother from her mother's side was only carrying the mutant DNA in her. She's got one uncle that's not a mutant. Her mother and her aunt were both mutants. Her other uncle, brother of her father, who was also Byron's dad, was the purebred also. He married one of the last purebreds of his time, therefore making Byron a purebred, but not Jean."

"Oh."

"Anyways, so yeah. We were purebreds. And being a purebred has its advantages. It heightens your powers a bit more than a non-purebred. Which brings me back to tie up all these different stories that I've told you guys.

"By the time the twentieth century rolled around, there were still a select few phoenixes still traveling around to find hospitable planets, two of which came here during that late spring meteor shower that happened about seven years ago. Remember that one, Charles? The one that the meteors were turning odd colors, some of which I think were probably a mutant's doing."

"As a matter of fact, I do recall that." Some of the others nodded their heads in agreement.

"Well, yeah. It just so happened that Byron and I were just walking out in the night when we spotted the two phoenixes coming straight at us. There were like two fireballs coming and we knew that we couldn't stop them from making impact with us." She looked up at Rogue. "You've seen that part, I'm sure. The one with the fireball coming at you."

Rogue gave a slow nod. "I remember it all really clearly. I still get scared because of that."

"It hurt didn't it?"

Again, Rogue nodded.

"It burned us bad. We both thought we were going to die. Fortunately, Byron has strong shields and a good healing power to boot. To top that off, he got the phoenix that was reasonable and kind. Not all phoenixes are like that."

"What do you mean 'he got the phoenix'?" Wolverine spoke up.

"You remember me telling you about the phoenix's special technique? Well, that's what they did." Cleo looked past Wolverine and out through the window. "The phoenix that used Byron as a host was actually the guardian of the one that I carry. Lucky for him, Byron's phoenix, the Ruby Phoenix, was reasonable. The Phoenix pretty much said that he'd use Byron's body as a host to live in, but he'd let Byron still control his own body and mind, even when the Phoenix showed his true form through Byron.

"My Phoenix wasn't as nice." Cleo closed her eyes and sighed.

"I get it," Rogue whispered softly. Everybody turned to look at her. "That's why your face was so different after you threw that fireball at Magneto. It wasn't you at all. That was the Phoenix inside of you. And you used your power that you could muster to send me a warning so I could save Magneto and the others from something you couldn't control."

Cleo gave a sad smile. "It's kinda a good thing to have someone be connected to me like that. It made it easier to give you the warning. I couldn't stop myself, and so therefore I had to tell you to warn the others. Unfortunately, I still was in a bit of control of myself, meaning the Silver Phoenix inside of me, as she was called, hadn't shown her full self. That's why I had to learn utter and complete control.

"Once the Phoenixes went inside of us, Byron and I were both knocked unconscious. Byron was the first to recover. Ruby Phoenix explained everything to him through his mind as he carried me back to my place, where my parents immediately started to take care of the wounds on me. The Phoenix warned Byron that Silver Phoenix was hard to control, but he had complete confidence that I would be able to control her. I did learn to control her within me, but it takes a great deal of effort to do so. One little slip up could mean disaster for everyone. Silver Phoenix is very strong. Once she is able to take over my body, there's hardly any chance whatsoever of me returning back to my normal self – alive."

"Have you tried taking her out of you?" Nightcrawler asked. "From the sounds of it, it looks like you don't want her in you."

"I don't really have a choice. Once they've chosen a host, they stick to that host until he or she dies. Then they'll just rise up from the ashes and find another host. At least, that's what I'm guessing. I've tried talking to Silver Phoenix to ask her if she could just be fair, but she's pretty stubborn and cruel."

"Can she hear you?" Storm asked.

Cleo nodded. "Every word. But she can't do anything about it. I still control her. It's only if I lose my temper or my emotions go haywire is when she shows up. That's why I have to stay calm and collected."

Cleo gave another sigh as she shrugged her shoulders. "Well, that's the whole truth there. Anything else you want to know?"

"Why did you never tell me this?" Xavier asked quietly. "You or Byron."

Cleo shrugged. "I dunno. I guess it just didn't feel right telling anybody, no matter how much we confided in them. We only told our family members, considering they were there at that time when the phoenixes came. The other bad guys just somehow found out. Dunno how, and I don't think I really care." She suppressed a shiver and wrapped the afghan around her once more. "I'm gonna go to bed, if you don't mind. I think it's about time that I rested up."

"Cleo." Cleo glanced up at Beast. "What about Lex?"

"Lex is dead," Wolverine answered gruffly. "Stop pestering her about it."

"Actually, Logan, he's right." Cleo gave a sad look up to all the Xmen. "He's not dead."

The others were shocked into silence.

Cleo continued as she closed her eyes. "Right before the house burned, I sensed Mystique running into it and snatching Lex away. Then Pyro burned it down."

"Why didn't you say anything before, Cleo?" Xavier asked. "Why hide it and only tell us this now?"

Cleo's voice shook as she answered. "Because I didn't want the girls to worry. Knowing them, they would've charged straight for Magneto, if they had known. I had to keep it quiet and let them believe that their brother was dead. I just wanted them to be safe." She snorted. "Not that _that_ did much good now." She blinked open her eyes, where a lone tear slowly fell down her cheek. She sniffed and scrubbed it off.

Xavier knew that this was already too much for Cleo to bear at once. He wheeled himself closer to her and placed his hand on her shoulder, giving her a sympathetic smile. "Get some rest, Cleo. You've had quite the trial. Once you're better, we'll discuss our plans of saving all of your siblings. Not now, though. It took a great strength of will for you to allow yourself to explain to us your burdens, and we thank you so very much. But now, you need to rest. We will wait patiently as you get stronger."

Cleo sniffed. "Thanks, Charles. I think resting wouldn't be such a bad idea." With that said, she turned and lay down on the sofa, falling instantly asleep.

The others quietly tiptoed out, leaving the sleeping Phoenix-child to her emotions.


	15. Night Song

**Chapter 15: Night Song**

By: Galadeidre

"Let go of me! Let go! You slimy, overgrown, good-for-nothing, water wart! Ughhh! Get off of me!" Liz struggled violently against her captors, clawing them as much as she could.

Toad let out a groan as he felt her teeth in his arm. He glanced at Sabertooth with a grimace. "Here. You take her."

Sabertooth rolled his eyes and grabbed her by the hair.

Liz screamed. "Get off! Let go of me, you gigantic, worthless, no good, pile of fur!"

Magneto chuckled as he watched the struggling mutant in front of him. "I bet she could call you every single name that was imaginable plus more. She has quite the temper." Mystique smiled at that.

They were walking down a flight of long narrow steps, Pyro lighting the way. He knew where to go. He opened the wooden door that was at the bottom, walked across the dome-like room to another metal door and stopped. He glanced at Magneto, who walked up to the door. The old man held out his hand, the wheel turning and the door flying open. Magneto stepped into the room first, followed by the rest of the mutants.

Sabertooth threw Liz into the room. Liz landed hard on her back and groaned, still muttering insults under her breath.

Magneto gave a smile. "I hope you enjoy your stay here, my dear werewolf. I'm sure it will be quite an enjoyable time for you. Don't worry. I'll come visit often." With that said, he gave a nod and walked out, followed by the others, and sealed the door shut.

Liz growled and screamed as she lunged for the door in the pitch-blackness that had settled in, for Pyro's fire had been the only light that had illuminated the way. Realizing that the metal door was too thick to penetrate, she slumped to the ground, leaning on the door, and gave up her efforts of anger. She soon became silent, small tears running down her cheeks.

Then the tiniest voice was uttered that was not Liz's.

"Liz? Is that you, Liz?"

Liz immediately recognized the voice and started to grope around the room in the darkness. Her eyes had not adjusted to the dark, but were beginning to. "Ana? Where are you? Keep talking!"

"I'm over here." Liz kept groping around until she felt cold glass on her fingertips. "Ana?"

"I'm here." The voice was right beside her. Liz felt a thump on the glass. "I'm in the glass container."

"Oh, God, Ana! Thank God you're safe!"

"I missed you, Liz." Ana's voice broke and she started to cry.

Liz, too, was crying. "So did I, squirt. So did I." She forced herself to stop crying and ask a few questions. "Squirt, you been down here long?"

"I don't think so. They just brought me down here about an hour or so ago, I think. There's no sunlight and I don't have my cards to make a light, so I don't know if there's even a clock down here."

"Well, you're in luck." Liz smiled, though nobody could see her smile in the darkness. "'Cause I brought them." She dug through her pants pockets and pulled out the pile of cards.

"Thanks, Liz! Here, just drop it onto the ground." Immediately, she closed her eyes. In a matter of seconds, all of her cards were glowing a bright yellow and Liz scattered them all over the floor.

"All right! We have light!" Liz yelled out in joy, as she pumped her fist in the air. Just then, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye and turned around. The glow from the cards illuminated about half of the room. She could just make out a shadow in the other half. Something was there, and she wasn't sure that that thing was to be trusted…

Ana noticed and bounced up and down, making the glass container that she was in rattle a bit. "Don't worry, Liz. You won't believe who else is down here. Go over there." She pointed to the darkened half of the room.

Liz cautiously walked there, holding a few glowing cards in her hand. She caught his scent first before ever laying eyes on him. "Could it be…"

"Hey, kiddo." A voice said weakly. Liz held the light up, which revealed a pale man with dark brown hair and blue-green eyes. His hands were chained to the wall, and he was a bloody mess, but Liz recognized him immediately.

"Byron…" Liz was frozen on the spot for a moment. When it finally sunk in, she ran to give him a hug. "Byron! It's you! It's really you! We thought you were dead! Oh, man! Wait 'till Cleo hears about this! She's gonna freak!"

Byron smiled and groaned at the same time, as he was crushed in Liz's arms. "Ow. Ribs…"

Liz immediately got the picture and let go. "Sorry." Her shirt was covered in crusty old blood, but she didn't care. She was grinning from ear to ear. "Wow, Byron. You're really alive." Then her tone and face became serious again. "That helmet…that was what blocked Cleo from finding you right?"

Byron nodded and then smiled. "Well, at least I'm still alive. You've grown a lot, kid."

Liz rolled her eyes. "You're just like Wolverine. He always calls me kid."

"Wolverine? Who the heck is he?"

"New mutant over at the Professor's place."

"You don't look really good. What happened to you, Daddy?" Ana asked from the other end of the room.

"Nothing for you kids to worry about. I'll be fine." He smiled. "I haven't been called that in a long time. I kinda miss it. But enough about me. What's happened with you guys?"

"Nothing much."

"Nothing much, huh?" Byron's voice was quiet yet stern. "You're not being all so very truthful, are you?"

Liz sighed and leaned against the same wall that he was hanging from. "Cleo was crushed when she couldn't sense any sign of you anywhere. She hasn't been the same since, all so quiet and stuff."

"She's been quiet ever since our folks died."

"Yeah, but she's been quiet_er_."

Ana nodded. "And she isn't happy much anymore. And she's been even more angrier because Lex died."

"You mean your baby bro, Lex?"

"Yeah," both girls sadly answered in unison.

Byron's eyes were wide with shock and strangely a bit of confusion, too. It suddenly dawned on him on what had happened. "Liz." Liz looked up at him. "Take one of those lighted cards and go over there." He jerked his head slightly to his right, pointing to the last portion of the room that had not been entirely lit up. Liz did as she was told and walked there.

There was another glass container in this portion of the room with also only one occupant. Seeing the occupant, Liz gave a scream. "Ana! Oh wow, it's Lex, Ana! It's Lex! He's alive, too!" Ana, too, gave a scream as she noticed.

And so it was Lex. The little toddler was fast asleep and sucking his thumb gently. He had obviously been well taken care of while he had disappeared, for he looked as healthy as ever.

Liz placed her hands gently on the glass, so as not to disturb the sleeping baby. "He's okay. But…but Cleo said…"

"My guess is that Cleo didn't want you kids to worry," Byron interrupted. "You should know by now, that Cleo will keep stuff to herself if she thinks it'll keep others out of danger."

"Yeah…" Liz muttered, thinking back about her older sister. Then she smiled as she watched her baby brother sucking his thumb. "Good ol' Cleo. Why she actually trusted Magneto in taking care of Lex is beyond me…I'd have killed him…"

"Which is why she didn't tell you." Byron gave a small smile. "Cleo was always pretty good at that…reading other people's personalities…knowing what the result of any problem would be…well…at least most of the time."

Liz nodded at this. "I wonder how she's doing…"

* * *

Cleo jerked awake with a start and sat up. She was still on the couch that Wolverine had placed her down in. She looked out through the window. It was dark and a slight wind rustled through the bushes outside. The TV was on with the volume low. A little boy was flipping through the channels with the blink of his eyes. 

Cleo gave a small smile. "Doesn't that get annoying after a while?"

"I'm used to it."

"You should sleep."

"I don't."

"Well, you should." She got up and walked out of the room, placing her hand on the little boy's head as she passed him.

She decided to wander through the mansion for a little bit just to get a bit more blood running through her body. Just outside the med lab, she heard a chinking of crucibles and the scribbling of a pen on a notepad. As she passed the slightly open door, she saw the blur of blue fur going around the room and smiled as she thought of Beast staying up and doing his lab experiments. She passed the kitchen, noticing a half-full ice cream container with a spoon in it. There was the sound of the fridge opening and closing and she immediately figured that Bobby was awake. She passed another living room that was a bit smaller than the one that she had slept in and noticed Storm and Kurt talking in low voices, no doubt Kurt was giving Storm another lesson in faith. She decided to walk outside to get a bit of fresh air and went out through the front doors quietly. The garage had just closed as she stepped out into the night and she could hear a motorcycle zooming off in the distance – Cyclops had also decided to get a bit of fresh air, or was just reminiscing about the past.

As she walked around the mansion and to the back where the small pond was, she looked up to the upper floors of the mansion, immediately noticing Wolverine pacing back and forth past his window. She had a hunch that he had just woken up from another dream of his past. She kind of felt sorry for him, having amnesia and all. If she wanted to, she could piece the puzzle of his past back together in a short time, but she agreed with Xavier. Wolverine had to find out his past for himself.

Rogue was also awake. She was sitting on her window seat and staring out into the night sky, having obviously not noticed Cleo walking outside on the school grounds. Cleo felt bad for her, too, for she was almost positive that Rogue still had part of her memory and powers inside of her. She'd have to remember to drain that last bit out of Rogue, so she could be free from her burdens. It was bad enough that Rogue had had to drain her quite a few times now for multiple purposes and that now she had to share Cleo's problems.

Cleo sighed and looked down at the pond. There had been a lot of people awake that night. It seemed as if everyone was a bit restless of what was to come, whatever that was. They could all probably feel it, but she had a stranger feeling. The Phoenix within her was starting to get anxious and Cleo knew it. For the first time in a very long while, Cleo felt an emotion that she thought incapable of feeling anymore – fear. What would Silver Phoenix do to her body if she came to possess it in the long run? Would Cleo pretty much die to the world once Silver Phoenix took over, or would there be any chance of actually coming back and living the happy life that she had long wanted?

Cleo shook her head, knowing that these questions were pointless to ask to herself. She would just have to wait and see the outcome of everything.

It didn't help with the fear that she was starting to feel, though. Adult she may have already become, but comfort and protection was what she longed for. She was tired and strained. She needed support from someone close…but he was gone.

Cleo stared at the pond for a while longer and then shrugged her shoulders. This was the closest that she was gonna get to having him back. She held out her hand towards the pond and began to concentrate.

A slight wind made the pond ripple slightly. Then the ripples started to become more wild and chaotic until the water started to accumulate in a certain point in the little lake. Rapidly, the water started to build on that point and then started to rise. The rising water soon started to take shape forming the mold of a young man about a foot taller than Cleo.

The formation was complete and Cleo slowly dropped her hands to her sides as she smiled up at her watery creation. "Just as I remember you…"

The waterman gave a smile and lifted his hand up to her cheek. As he touched her cheek, not a single drop of water dripped down her face. It was as if the hand was a solid object, though the water continued to circulate and make the shape of a hand.

Cleo smiled and placed her hand over his. "You don't know how hard this is…forming and talking to you, but knowing you're not real."

The man just smiled and began to stroke her cheek. With his other hand, he took Cleo's other hand that was at her side and placed it on his watery lips, giving it a gentle kiss.

Cleo gave a sad smile, on the verge of tears. "I miss you. Dang it, do I ever miss you." She gave a small sigh and closed her eyes as she continued to speak. "Why d'you have to go? You knew that leaving me the way you did would kill me, and you still left. It hasn't been the same without you…I haven't been the same…and now…now…dang, Byron…I'm losing control. I'm losing control, the kids have been kidnapped, and…and you aren't here. You're not here to make sure that I make it through this ordeal and even if I don't…who's gonna take care of the kids when we get them back? Sure, I can leave them with Xavier, but…but that would mean that they lose both their real parents and their…their 'second parents'. Dang it, Byron, why'd you go? Why? I…I can feel it, Byron. It's not gonna be pretty when I lose control. And I'll see it all and not be able to stop it. She could burn everyone alive and I would see it…and all I'd be able to do would be to watch." A tear rolled down her cheek and then another. After a few moments, the tears were continually flowing, but she was silent as they dropped down her face.

The water Byron gave a small frown and then a sad smile. He gently tried to stem the flow of her tears with his thumbs and then slowly closed his eyes, leaning closer to her face. Cleo instinctively did the same.

Cleo felt him in her mind before he had even started to speak.

_You miss him a lot, don't you?_

Immediately, Cleo opened her eyes and watched as her water creation broke and fell back into the little lake that it had come from. This time, water had been left on her hands as she had used her mutant powers to release the captive water from her mental grip.

_What does it look like, Charles?_ She looked at her hand that was wet from the fallen water. The pond had gone back to its nightly stillness, but she continued to stare in the area where her water Byron had been standing just moments before.

_I'm sorry._

Cleo sighed. _Don't be. I shouldn't have snapped. I'm sorry._

_It's only natural. _He chuckled. _You never do try to show your soft, vulnerable side. It has been quite a long time since I've seen you cry or act like that._

_Don't get used to it. Besides, you should have been sleeping._

_You knew that I was awake._

_Not many are sleeping. _

_True. Why do you suppose that is?_

_Well, what do you think?_

_They are all anxious. They don't know what to expect. It has been quite busy for the past few days. I think they all want to be ready if anything else that is abrupt somehow occurs tonight. _

_Well, they won't be any good if they don't get their rest._ In the distance, she heard the garage opening and Cyclops returning from his night drive. _I don't suppose you could tell them all to go to bed, huh?_

_I highly doubt it. And some don't sleep, as you already know…but a thought did cross my mind…_

_Which would be…_

_You have a wonderful voice, Cleo. You get it from your mother, no doubt._

Cleo rolled her eyes but gave a small smile. _Is that what you want me to do?_

_If it isn't too much to ask, we all need rest, but I doubt that we'll be able to sleep by our own selves. If you could sing a lullaby…yes…I think one of the old ones that you used to sing to the girls when you were younger. It would be greatly appreciated._

Cleo gave a small chuckle at this. _All right, Professor. I'll sing you a night song. Good night._

_Good night, Cleo._

Their connection now closed, Cleo looked up into the stars as she took a silent yet deep breath and began to sing the old minor tune:

_One day is leaving _

_Another day is gone_

_Now to sleep a deep slumber_

_'Till we wake again_

_For a new day is come_

_With hope and joy and with sorrow_

_And the new day brings_

_The questions and answers_

_That seem to creep in its shadow_

_And like each day that comes_

_Each day will go_

_So we now can sleep our deep slumber…_

After Cleo had sung the verse once, she began to hum the tune. Her voice was beautiful. It was as smooth and as pure as silk. The haunting lullaby, along with Cleo's voice, traveled through the air, captivating all her hearers. Her voice was carried through the soft wind for quite a distance and as it reached the ears of her listeners, they all soon began to fall into a peaceful sleep. Even the young mutant boy that never slept couldn't withstand Cleo as her mutant powers, through her voice, began to make his eyes droop.

Everyone for miles around had now fallen asleep because of Cleo, wherever they were. Rogue had heard her voice, and as soon as she realized that Cleo was down on the school grounds singing, she fell asleep where she was, her head leaning on the cold window. Wolverine had fallen back onto his bed as he heard the soft tune. Kurt and Storm were fast asleep where they had been talking, and Beast was snoring softly on his lab table, glasses pushed up on top of his furry blue head and his hand still holding his pencil atop his notepad. Bobby was fast asleep where he had been eating ice cream, and the little boy was curled up into a ball on the couch. Cyclops had just managed to enter his room and sit on his bed before he heard her sing. He was sleeping peacefully in a matter of moments, still in his jeans and shirt that he had worn the whole day. Beyond the mansion, everyone else was fast asleep. Even the animals were silent for the night.

Cleo started to sing softer and softer until her voice had faded away entirely. She looked around her and up at the mansion, giving a smile in the direction of the Professor's bedroom window.

_Good night, Professor._

With that, she walked away from the mansion and into the forest.

* * *

She heard her voice echo through the air. It was a beautiful voice, she had to admit. And it was powerful. She could sense her mutant powers in that voice of hers. It reached high up into the ozone, where she was, but it didn't affect her. Not much, at least. She gave a small sigh. _You can tell what is to come…you can sense it…_

She looked down at the blue marble planet to whom she was talking to. She couldn't see her quite clearly, but she could sense her walking around in the forest.

_You know…as well as I do…this will be the last peaceful night… The time has come…_

_We shall see the outcome of this…battle…_

_…do not lose control…_

* * *

A/N: So yeah…here's the next chapter! Hope you like it! But please, please review and tell me if you like it or not. Oh, and one question…does anyone happen to know that little boy's name? The one that doesn't sleep and was flipping through the channels with the blink of his eyes during X2? If somebody knows and could tell me, it would be greatly appreciated! I just don't like calling him the 'little boy' throughout this whole chapter. Anyway, thanks for whoever's actually reading this and liking it (or not liking it). Later! Galadeidre 


	16. Found Him

**Chapter 16: Found Him**

By: Galadeidre

A/N: I am so really really sorry for starting another new story. Yes, I'm gonna continue with this one and with REC, I just needed to get that one out of my brain, 'cuz it was really bugging my imagination. I had to get it written down. Now…back to Phoenix Days…(srry this took so long to update!)

* * *

Wolverine gave a small groan as he slowly squinted and opened his eyes. He was sprawled above his bedcovers, his legs dangling off the bed. He cracked his neck and stretched as he thought about what had happened the night before. He had woken up because of his past nightmares again…paced around the room for a while…heard someone singing…then fell asleep… 

_Who was that singing?_ He thought to himself. He thought a bit more and then shrugged his shoulders. _Whoever it was, she's got one heck of a voice._ With that thought, he got up off his bed with a grunt and walked out of his bedroom, cracking his neck as he walked.

The minute he appeared in the long hallway, he immediately smelt someone else coming out of another room and looked to his right.

Cyclops yawned and stretched as Wolverine glanced at him. He noticed Wolverine and gave a nod. "Sleep well?"

"Better than normal, actually. Hey, d'ya hear that girl singing last night?"

"Actually, yeah. Right before I fell asleep." They both started walking down the hallway, heading for the kitchen.

"Gorgeous voice, wasn't it?"

"Never heard anyone with that good of a voice before. Who was that?"

Wolverine shrugged. "Maybe someone else knows. We'll ask." They both entered the kitchen and noticed Bobby softly snoring on the island in the kitchen.

His hand held a spoon upright, which had been bearing a small amount of ice cream. The ice cream had long since melted down the spoon and onto his hand, making his fist gooey and sticky. Beside his head was a bucket of chocolate chip ice cream that had melted. The melted, condensed ice on the outside of the bucket had made its way to the tip of Bobby's head.

Cyclops chuckled. "He's gonna need a bath."

Wolverine smirked and gave the young mutant a shake. "Hey, kid."

Bobby's head jerked up with a start and he glanced around, still half-asleep and dazed. "Wha…where am I?"

"In the kitchen," Wolverine answered. "In the middle of your midnight snack."

Bobby looked down at the melted ice cream and slowly started to wake up a bit more. "Wha? Oh…" He touched his head, feeling the wet part of his hair that the ice had touched and then glanced at his sticky hand. "Oh, man." Quickly, he used his powers to refreeze the ice cream and place it back in the freezer. He wiped the island spotless and walked out of the kitchen shaking his head in disbelief.

"Bobby hasn't fallen asleep eating his ice cream for a long time now. He hardly ever sleeps. Weird," Cyclops remarked.

Just as both of the men sat down with their breakfast at the kitchen table, Storm and Nightcrawler walked in yawning, followed by Beast, who held his same notepad and pencil. Rogue and Xavier entered not long after, talking about Rogue's powers and problems.

Wolverine watched them all come in. "Whoa. Somebody say somethin' about a designated time for everyone to wake up and eat breakfast?"

"No kidding," Cyclops spoke up. "This is the first time I've seen this many people come in the kitchen at one time. Talk about coincidence."

Xavier gave a slight grin. "No, Scott, it's no coincidence. You all heard her last night."

"You mean that singing girl?" Storm asked as Nightcrawler nodded and yawned at the same time. "Who was she? Do you know, Professor?"

Xavier nodded. "I do."

"Well, then ya mind telling us who it was?" Wolverine asked impatiently.

At that moment, Cleo walked into the kitchen, taking in the whole scene immediately. "G'morning." She gave them a nod and then turned around to the fridge. She took out a milk carton and snapped her fingers as she glanced at two loaves of bread. Immediately, the pieces of bread were lathered with crunchy peanut butter and jelly and was in her hand. She took a bite, walked out of the kitchen with a nod at the others, and strolled out onto the school grounds.

They didn't know how they knew, but they all realized that it had been Cleo singing the night before.

Wolverine turned his head towards the Professor. "How…"

"I cannot tell you how her mutant powers work. She's a mutant of variability. You should know that by now." Xavier gave a nod towards Wolverine.

Wolverine finished his sandwich and leaned back in his chair, shaking his head. "I'm never gonna understand her."

* * *

Mystique sighed as she dipped her naked blue body into the steaming pool of water. Wow…did it ever feel relaxing. The mutant smiled and closed her eyes as she sunk deeper into the warm blanket of water and leaned her head back against the stone wall. The water reflected the little light that illuminated the dark and rather large room. 

Mystique smiled again. Yeah…she definitely deserved a break, and this little pool that actually was connected to a hot spring a few miles away was the perfect way to relax.

She heard the shuffle of footsteps in the dark and sighed, a bit disappointed that her break was already done. She looked up with her bright yellow eyes as her beloved leader entered the room and walked towards her.

He had a slight smile on his face which wasn't anything quite surprising. What was strange was that this smile was actually…excited. Mystique gave a quizzical look in Magneto's direction.

Magneto's smile grew just a hair larger. "It's time, my dear. Time for everything to come together…and for the world around us to start fearing us mutants…"

With this said, Mystique, too, grinned and watched as Magneto slowly took off the helmet off of his head and closed his eyes with a smile.

"It will be a new world once this is over…a world of absolute mutant domination…"

He dropped the helmet to the ground.

* * *

Her old mutant instincts kicked in and she stopped walking. Turning her head around in the direction that she had just been going, her eyes flared up with a mixture of emotions warring within them. _It is time…_

_You must learn complete control…_

_Or this world…will be lost…_

She lifted off the ground and flew in the direction that she could sense Him, her body starting to glow and a fiery aura surrounding her.

* * *

Cleo had sensed him, as well, and she narrowed her eyes. She turned on her heel and finished munching on her sandwich as she reentered the kitchen where everybody was still eating. She immediately found Xavier and Xavier saw her. 

They both had sensed him.

"Cleo," Xavier started. The others immediately turned to look at Cleo. Xavier's voice was filled with concern. "It's a trap. You know that."

Cleo nodded. "I know." She looked out through the kitchen window. "And you and I both know that this will be one of the only times that we can find Magneto so easily. It's a trap. We all know it." The other mutants were glancing back and forth from Xavier and Cleo, confused. Rogue had been able to sense Magneto as well and quickly filled the others in on what was happening.

Once the others had caught up, Cyclops looked up at Cleo. "It's a trap we're willing to make…for the girls' sakes." The others nodded in agreement.

Cleo glanced at him and nodded her head. "Thank you."

"Can you locate his exact location from here?" Xavier asked.

Cleo closed her eyes and there was silence for a few moments while everyone waited in anticipation. Finally, Cleo opened her eyes.

"He's up in Canada. On an island in James Bay."

"Which island?" Storm asked.

"Akimiski Island."

At this, Beast's eyes widened. "But that's…that's a migratory bird sanctuary."

"Does that surprise you?" Cleo asked sourly.

"What do you mean by that?" Wolverine asked back.

"Have you forgotten what I am?" Dawning apprehension seemed to light up on a few of the mutants there in the kitchen, including Wolverine.

Cleo sighed. "We're wasting time. C'mon. We gotta go now."

"But wait," Beast started as he and the others stood up out of their seats. "Cleo…you're not well enough yet to be going anywhere. I doubt you have regained the maximum amount of your powers yet?"

Cleo sighed again and shook her head. "It takes a lot of time and rest for my powers to come back considering how much I used them and strained myself in doing so. But forget about me. I'll last, but I don't want my sisters to be with Eric any longer than they need to be. And don't try stopping me." With that, she marched out of the kitchen and headed straight for the jet.

The other mutants followed her, Rogue and Xavier lagging behind.

"Professor," Rogue spoke in a quiet voice as she watched Bobby come out of the bathroom washed and changed and then head down into the basement once he had heard what was happening from Cyclops. "Professor…I'm…I'm afraid of what might happen…to Cleo, I mean…"

Xavier nodded slowly. "Yes, I know. I am very worried myself. She cannot push herself any further. If she does…"

"…it could be the start of something horrible…" Rogue finished softly. She glanced at the Professor and the Professor did the same.

"Let us hope that that moment never comes…"

* * *

A/N: Ok…so there's the next chapter. Finally! I was starting to get a bit mad at myself for not completing this chapter. Hope you all like it so far! Please review! Thanks to all my readers! Galadeidre 


	17. On to Akimiski Island

**Chapter 17: On To Akimiski Island**

By: Galadeidre

A/N: Thanks for all the ppl that have read and reviewed my story! I love you all! (Childlyke/Dry Angel, Rogue, & Flapjack…you can kill me anytime for not updating any sooner. ; p )

* * *

_Cleo's mind was whirling. She couldn't think straight. She looked around her, but couldn't tell what was up and what was down, for that matter left or right. She seemed to be floating but falling down in an endless hole of darkness. Where in the world was she?_

_In a split second, the entire scene changed. One minute it was dark and lonely, and the next, in a blink of an eye, there was sunlight shining down into a forest that was in full bloom of the first signs of spring. _

_Cleo squinted into the distance, noticing several figures. Quickly, she ran towards them, soon realizing that they were her family: Liz, Ana, Lex, and…_

_Cleo stopped as she stared at the tallest figure. "Byron…"_

_The handsome figure of Byron turned towards her as he was laughing at the girls' playfulness. He gave a grin in Cleo's direction. "Glad to see that you found us." His eyes were kind and loving, the same eyes that Cleo had always adored. _

_Tears started to flood into her eyes as she smiled broadly and ran towards them. "Byron!" She buried her face in his body as they wrapped their arms around each other. "God, I thought I'd never see you again!"_

_"Same here, Love. Same here." Byron gently stroked Cleo's head as the young kids just looked on, smiling widely. They stayed in this position for a short while._

_Byron gave a sigh with a hint of a certain emotion that Cleo immediately detected – and did not like. She immediately looked up into Byron's face, a dry line of tears marked down her cheek. _

_"Byron?" She gave a questioning glance. "What's wrong? Aren't you happy?"_

_Byron sighed again and nodded. "You don't know how happy I am to be home…but time's have changed, Cleo…"_

_"What are you talking about?"_

_"We all disappeared from your life before, Cleo. And that's exactly how it's supposed to be."_

_Cleo's voice stuck in her throat and a heavy weight immediately sunk down in her. "You…you can't mean that…" _

_"Yes, Cleo. Yes, I mean that. We can't stay with you anymore. We've all moved on, Love. You have."_

_Cleo shook her head slowly in shock. "No. No, Byron. No, you can't…you can't…Byron…"_

_Byron slowly backed out of their embrace as the shocked Cleo just stared at him, her eyes dry but filled with such dread and fear it could cut right through anyone's heart. Byron gave a small smile. "Sorry, Cleo. The kids and I have to leave you now." He took a hold of Ana's hand and gestured for Liz to carry Lex. He gave one last look at Cleo before he started walking away from her and into the forest. _

_"No…Byron…" Cleo fell on her knees as she watched them walk away from her…out of her life forever. "NO! BYRON!" She suddenly pushed herself up and off the ground and started running to where they had disappeared into the forest. "Byron! Don't do this to me! Don't leave me! Not again! God, Bryan, don't leave me again!"_

_She ran through the trees and searched desperately for any signs of them, but she could neither see nor sense them. She wouldn't stop, but kept on running through the thicket. They had to be there. They just had to be…_

_Suddenly, the trees disappeared and were replaced with the same darkness that she had been in before. _

_"NO!" Cleo screamed, as she desperately tried to cling on to reality. "Byron!"_

_A small but distinct laugh was then heard and Cleo immediately turned around. _

_Not far behind her, a figure was standing in the dark expanse laughing softly at her. What shocked Cleo the most was that the figure looked like her. _

_As a matter of fact…_

_It was her. _

_Only, the hair was a brilliant silver. _

_Cleo immediately recognized the other figure of herself for what she was._

_"Phoenix…" Cleo whispered._

_Cleo's slight twin stopped laughing and revealed a pair of bright, flame-orange eyes._

_"Actually, it's Silver Phoenix, if you don't mind." She gave a malicious grin at this._

_"Fine, then. It's Silver, but why are you talking to me? This is the first time you've ever decided to talk to me like this."_

_"Why, can't I talk to the one that is sharing my body?"_

_Cleo did a slight double take at this. "Your body?"_

_"Yes, my body. Or…at least it soon will be." Silver grinned even wider._

_"I'm letting you stay in my body."_

_"That's not quite true, Cleo. You can't kick me out of your body. You don't have that kind of power."_

_Cleo was silent at this. _

_Silver chuckled and walked up to her. "And besides, you're running out of power. Soon enough this body will be as good as mine."_

_Cleo stared at her. "What?"_

_"Oh, you know what I mean. You've been losing power ever since Magneto started trying to get you to lose control. You lose control while I gain some. Pretty soon, your body won't be yours to claim. That's why they left you."_

_"They?" But Cleo already knew who Silver was referring to._

_"You know who I'm talking about. You'll never see them again. They've willingly left you, Cleo. You might as well give up and let me take over your body."_

_Cleo shook her head. "But why can't we just share the body? Two beings in one, you know, like Byron and Ruby Phoenix do?"_

_Silver gave a shrill laugh at this. "You've got to be joking. You and I share a body? Doubtful. Besides, I'm not like Rubes. He's too nice and too lenient for his own good. Of course, he came up with a compromise to have it equal for everyone. He's always been like that." Silver's tone of voice dropped just ever slightly to give Cleo the idea that all was not as it seemed. Silver was hiding something…some inner emotion._

_As quickly as it had shown through her voice, it was immediately gone. Silver glared straight at Cleo. "Face it, Cleo. You're fighting a battle that you're not gonna win. I'll take over your body, I'll wreak havoc on this weak human world that you live in, and then I'll become the dominant creature in the galaxies. Mutants and humans alike won't know what hit them. You'll see. I'll be the victor of this war, and you'll get to see and experience it firsthand. Thanks to you, I'll be able to have a body that can withstand so much. And I'll even make your body stronger than you ever could."_

_Cleo couldn't take it anymore. She could feel her power draining out of her, making her weaker and weaker as she listened to Silver. Trying to argue with the Phoenix had taken much more out of Cleo than she had intended. Cleo knew that Silver was just trying to play with her emotions and make her lose control even more, but she couldn't help it. She was tired of being strong…of being burdened…_

_…of being alone…_

_She wanted Byron there…but he had left her, just like Silver was saying, for Silver was still talking even though Cleo wasn't registering what she was saying anymore. She wanted someone to help her…anyone…_

_Someone whispered her name as she brought her hands up to her ears to silence Silver's wearisome criticisms. _

_And it wasn't Silver, but a voice that was kinder, gentler…_

_Cleo squeezed her eyes shut for a moment and then turned away from Silver, opening her eyes as she did so. _

_There stood the Professor. He wasn't in his wheelchair, but rather he was walking to her. _

_"Professor?" Cleo whispered in such a small voice, for fear that he was just an illusion and would disappear the minute his name was spoken. _

_But he didn't disappear. _

_Xavier smiled benevolently and held out his arms to draw her into his embrace. Cleo immediately welcomed it and started to cry onto his shoulder like a little child. _

_"Professor…" Cleo started, hiccupping uncontrollably. "I can't do it anymore…I'm no good. Professor…I don't want to be strong anymore…"_

_"Cleo…"Xavier whispered. "Unfortunately, I fear that being strong for others has always been your habit…and your forte."_

_"I wish it wasn't."_

_"We all wish we could follow and not lead at times, as well as vice versa. And there is nothing wrong with leaning on someone for support every now and then."_

_"Professor…she said…Silver said that they left me…Byron…and…and the girls…and Lex…"_

_"Now, Cleo," he held her face gently with his hands and lifted it up so that she could look at him eye to eye. "Do you honestly think that they would ever willingly leave you? Believe me when I say this, you're not one that any one person could just leave, much less your own family."_

_At this, Cleo seemed to gain a little bit of strength and gave a small, uncertain smile._

_"There now," Xavier replied. He, too, gave a smile and stood up, helping her up as well. "It's time we got out of here." He held out his hand to her. "Come, Cleo. Don't worry. I'll help you out of here, but you must believe in yourself. You must be strong. Do you think you have enough strength and control to do this?"_

_Cleo gave a nod and took a deep breath, praying to herself that she would make it out of wherever they were alive…

* * *

_

Cleo's eyes slowly fluttered open and she immediately noticed several faces peering anxiously down at her.

"She's coming to," Storm said with a sigh of relief.

"Thank the Heavenly Father," Nightcrawler praised.

Rogue and Logan kept their eyes on Cleo, who slowly started to move her limbs from where she was sitting in her chair.

"You okay, Cleo?" Logan asked.

Cleo gave a small nod. "Yeah…I think so…" She set her eyes on Rogue. "What happened?"

"I guess you were havin' a nightmare or something. You were quiet at first when you fell asleep. Then you started tossing, and turning, and moaning in your sleep. I couldn't tell what your dream was, but I don't think it was a pleasant one," Rogue answered.

"It wasn't."

"Sorry."

"It's not your fault." Cleo gave a sigh and glanced over to the seat that the Professor was occupying. She noticed his wheelchair folded beside his seat. _Poor man…_She nodded at the Professor who was watching her every movement carefully. "Thanks, Charles."

Xavier nodded back towards her. "Anytime you need my help, Cleo. Anytime." He turned back around and the rest went back to their own business aboard the Blackbird.

Except for the Wolverine.

Logan walked to Cleo's chair and knelt down beside it, his voice just barely above a whisper. "Was it as bad as mine?"

Cleo didn't have to ask what he meant. She turned her secret, abyss eyes towards him and answered, "To be honest, Logan…no." She sighed and turned her head back to look straight in front of her as she spoke. "I don't think many nightmares could compare to what you've been through, not even mine. Sorry."

"Don't be." Logan's voice was slightly haggard as he spoke quickly. "I…I'm glad that they aren't as bad…"

At this, Cleo turned her head back towards him and gave a smirk. "Never knew you cared so much."

"Never knew you could have that bad of a dream. I've never seen anyone moan and cry out like how you did. You were the last person I'd expect to have such a nightmare."

"You'd be surprised…" Cleo muttered, half to herself.

"We're over James Bay," Storm suddenly spoke up. With this announcement, all heads turned to look out of the windows and into the blue, clearness of the waters below them. Farther out in the distance were a few visible specks of what seemed to be islands that they were heading out towards.

It was a beautiful sight. The passengers on the jet could not but gaze at the purity that the water and islands themselves seemed to have. The sun was up and warm; there wasn't a cloud in sight. The slight breeze that was blowing gently skimmed the surface of the water, sending small, even waves.

But not everyone could be so awestricken.

Cyclops was the only one that seemed to be gazing with a sad expression at the water – for it reminded him of the waters that had engulfed the love of his life over half a year ago. He was quiet as his mind focused on the picture.

Storm noticed first. "Scott?"

Cyclops didn't hear her, but everyone else did. One look at his face that wasn't covered by his visor, and everyone knew the problem.

Wolverine let his breath out slowly as Xavier muttered Cyclops's name quietly. Storm tried to get his attention once more. "Scott?" She placed his hand gently on his shoulder.

Cyclops stirred just a little, but continued to stare down at the water. Finally, he spoke, his voice barely above a whisper, "I wish…I just wish she was here…"

"We all do, Scott," Storm said sadly. "We all do…"

Cleo watched in silence as these words were spoken, pity swelling within her heart for the mutant. _Poor Cyclops. You'll see her again…I'm sure of that…_ She couldn't tell him…that she knew…in time, he would know the truth…

…but not yet…

…_she_ didn't want her to tell…yet…

"We're landing, everyone. Everyone hang on. It'll be a bit rough," Storm replied as she took hold of the handle, pulling it up just slightly. They hit a slight draft, which caused them to jounce a bit before they landed with a slight thump onto the sands of the bird sanctuary. Storm gave a sigh of satisfaction. "That does it." She pressed a button, which made the jet invisible before she opened the ramp. Everyone quickly filed out, anxious to find out what to do next.

Cleo was the last to come out of the jet. She looked at each one in turn and then started to speak.

"All right. Beast and Charles. I want you two to stay here for now. We might need your doctor abilities and I don't want you two involved just yet if possible. We'll try to clear the area of Magneto's goons as best as possible. I'll call you when you should come. The rest of you guys are with me. Understood?"

All the other mutants nodded their heads, not wanting to argue, but it didn't stop them from worrying. Cleo was looking paler and weaker than before. She was almost as pale as when she was still in bed with the fever. Nobody but Charles knew the full reason as to why she was so pale…the strain that had been placed on her as she talked to Silver...

They soon started on their way into the thick lush forest of the island, Beast and the Professor watching as they disappeared from view.

Once they were out of sight, Beast looked down at the Professor and replied, "We had best be going back into the jet, Professor. Not much use of us just standing out here, in plain sight of the enemy."

Xavier nodded. "Yes. Let's get back inside." With that said, Beast took the handles of the Professor's wheelchair and carefully steered him back up the ramp and into the jet.

* * *

"What exactly are we looking for?" Bobby asked impatiently. They had been searching through the forest for a good twenty-five minutes. 

"Anything out of the ordinary," Cleo answered as she looked upwards to the higher branches of the taller trees.

"Well, why can't we just have Nightcrawler teleport somewhere or Logan use his keen sense of smell?"

"I am using my nose, kid," Wolverine muttered in annoyance. "And all I'm smellin' is bird crap."

"Not to mention the forest itself," Storm piped up. She pushed aside a few branches that were in their pathway.

"And I also don't want Kurt to go too far," Cleo added. "He can teleport only to as far as we can see him physically. I don't want him to be caught or anything and we're not there to help him."

"But still," Cyclops remarked with a frown. "Can't one of you guys fly upwards to see if we can spot their base or something?"

"That doesn't seem to be too bad of an idea," Storm replied. "Here. I'll take a quick look."

"Careful, Storm. Be quick about it. He might be watching us from up there." They all watched as Storm slowly rose up into the air and through the tops of the trees.

Storm gazed around the tops of the trees. It was a beautiful midmorning; the sun was warm and welcoming, and the air was filled with a live vibrancy. The trees were thick on the island; Storm couldn't see through them. There was one thing, though, that caught her attention.

"There's a small mountain a few miles northeast from here," she called down. "And I think there may be a building there, but I'm not entirely sure. It's hard to see. Do you want me to go ahead a bit?"

"No." Cleo squinted as she looked up at Storm. "We'll walk. Better not risk…EEAAHHH!" Cleo screamed as a weird pain entered her head. She clutched her head, squeezing as hard as she could. It sounded as if the pain was ringing through her brain in a weird and incessant wail.

But nobody else heard it – and it was scaring everyone else.

"Cleo?" Rogue asked frightened. She tried to place a gloved hand onto Cleo's shoulder, but Cleo wasn't paying attention.

"What the heck's happening to her? Rogue?" Cyclops asked. Rogue shook her head; she was as confused as everyone else.

Suddenly, Cleo shot her head up to look at Storm again, her face filled with agony. "Storm! Get down from there! Now!"

Storm was taken slightly aback at the abrupt demand, but she started to do as she was told.

Too late.

Rogue and Cleo sensed it; Wolverine smelt it; and the rest heard it.

It sounded as if a huge avalanche was cascading down towards them – but there were no hills nearby and not much loose rock.

But there was a huge wave of fire in the sky that had come from the direction of the mountains – straight towards Storm.

Storm wasn't able to move in fear and the fire engulfed her. She screamed, drowning out the yells and cries of her fellow mutants below.

"We've got to do something!" Rogue screamed.

"Bobby! Freeze it!" Cyclops yelled. Bobby stepped up and sent a huge burst of ice towards the fire stream that seemed to be never ending, but to no avail. The ice just melted away; the fire was too strong.

"She's going to burn to death!" Nightcrawler yelled in fear. He was about to teleport, but was abruptly stopped by Cleo.

Cleo's face was still fighting the effects of the wail in her head, but she couldn't just worry about her pain when another mutant was going to die. Hoping that she still had enough strength left, she lifted up her hands towards Storm and the stream of fire and concentrated her thoughts on the fire.

Bending to her will, it curved and went straight for Cleo, leaving Storm. Storm was burned all over and almost unconscious. She started to fall out of the sky.

"Kurt!" Cleo screamed as she put up her shield to block most of the fire from burning her. The wave hit her directly and she was engulfed before she could say anymore. The others backed away and Nightcrawler teleported into the sky to catch Storm before she fell through the trees.

Storm was now safe, but not Cleo.

"Cleo!" Rogue screamed, but no one answered. The fire just kept on coming.

What seemed like hours, which was only minutes, the fire started to fall back. Cleo groaned as she used all her power to push the fire stream back to the mountain.

The fire finally died away as Cleo pushed it back, but it had done plenty of damage.

Nightcrawler teleported beside Cleo, Storm in his arms; Cleo collapsed to the ground, trembling and drawing in deep and shaky breaths.

"Cleo…" Rogue kneeled beside Cleo and gasped. She had felt Cleo's energy draining as she fended off the fire, but had not realized that her shield had been weaker than normal. There were deep, open burns that would definitely leave scars from her shoulders on down if they weren't treated. Blood slowly dripped down her once smooth, light brown skin.

"Oh, dear God…" Cyclops whispered in horror as Wolverine softly swore.

Cleo could feel their pity and shook her head, sucking in her breath as she did so. She spoke with a bit of trouble. "I'm…f…fine…" She groaned and balled her hands into fists, forcing herself to speak straight. "I'll …be able…to…to heal…myself…later…don't…worry…'bout me…" She slowly stood up with the help of Rogue.

As Cleo leaned onto her for support, Rogue said, "Cleo…let me help."

Cleo looked up at her with grave eyes, telling her no.

Rogue shook her head. "I still have some of your power, and we'll need you for sure. At least let me try." She placed her hand on Cleo's arm.

Cleo glanced down at Rogue's hand, then up to her face. Rogue's eyes gave her a pleading look.

Cleo gave a small smile. _She's definitely worried about me…no use being worried though…I'm not afraid of dying anymore…I've been so close to dying too many times already…_

Cleo took Rogue's hand. "Give me…some…of your power…I'll do…the rest…"

Rogue nodded and grasped Cleo's hand. Both closed their eyes as they slowly started to transfer their energy. The others held their breath as they watched to see a change in either mutant.

It came slowly at first and then more rapidly. The wounds that were not covered by Cleo's clothes started to stop bleeding and close. Cleo's breath steadied and they both slowly collapsed onto the forest floor.

Cleo dropped Rogue's hand. Rogue's breathing was slightly uneven. Cleo glanced at the wounds on her arms. They had closed up most of the way, but were still slightly visible. She ran her fingers gently over them and slowly got up, helping Rogue up as well. Lifting up her head, she glanced at each mutant in turn as they all let out their breaths, which they had been holding in. Her eyes rested on Storm who looked even worse than what she had looked.

"Kurt. I want you to teleport back to the Blackbird and stay there with her. Tell the Professor and Beast what happened and get her treated." She walked up to Storm and placed her hands gently on the swollen face of the weather goddess. Her fingertips glowed slightly and then disappeared after a minute. "I've made sure that her vital organs are working properly. The blood should stop from flowing soon, but those burns will need to be treated with care. I can't do much more right now. Once this is over, I'll make sure those burns are gone…and Rogue." She turned over to Rogue. "I want you to go back with Kurt."

"But…"

Cleo shook her head. "They might need you back there. Besides you still have some of my power. That should be good enough for now."

"But I don't know how to use your powers," Rogue protested.

"It's simple enough. You just need to stay calm and concentrate. Focus your mind on one certain spot or idea and remember to stay in control. That's the key rule there. You'll be fine. Believe me. Try flying to the jet. That's one of the easier powers to do." She turned to the others. "We'll split into two teams and go the opposite directions. We'll meet at that building that Storm said she saw on the mountain. It'll be your call if you want to go ahead inside the building or not if the other group isn't there yet. We'll work it out from there. Wolverine. You and Bobby will be in one team. Head east. Cyclops and I will head north and will meet you there." She turned back to Rogue. "Can you try flying for me?"

Rogue slowly gave a nod and closed her eyes, concentrating hard on flying. Slowly, she started to float off the ground.

Cleo nodded. "Good. Now all you have to do is remain calm and stay in control. Don't let your emotions get the better of you." Rogue nodded in response, a bit frightened that she was up in the air.

"You had better be getting back to the jet," Cleo continued. "I don't think any one of us wants to lose Storm…"

_Just like we did Jean…_Cyclops thought to himself, but kept his emotions in check. 

"Kurt, don't teleport too far ahead. I don't want Rogue caught by surprise." Kurt nodded, and both he and Rogue bounded back towards the Blackbird.

Cleo turned back to the other mutants once the threesome were out of sight "Let's get a move on, then. We haven't got all day."

As they split, Wolverine was thinking about the wounds on both Cleo and Storm. He couldn't get the sight of Storm's bleeding body out of his mind. He shuddered. "What the hell kind of mutant could actually do such a thing like that?" he muttered to himself, though Bobby was listening.

"Maybe…" Bobby started. "Maybe it was John?"

Wolverine gave a smirk. "Could that kid have gotten that powerful in only half a year?"

Bobby shrugged. "Who knows. I mean, it is Magneto after all."

"Yeah, guess so."

* * *

Magneto smiled from the window that he was peering through. He handed Mystique a small pair of binoculars and walked away from the window and down a few stone cold steps. Pyro was sitting in a wooden chair flicking his lighter open and closed. The young mutant looked up to his leader as Magneto walked up towards him. 

"All set in motion," Magneto said with a smile.

"You're enjoying this," Pyro remarked carelessly.

Magneto's grin widened. "Because, dear boy, they have no idea what just happened to them. Yes, it's a pity that Ororo had to be severely injured like that, but I'm sure she'll survive." He gave a deep chuckle. "And not even Cleo knows what just happened there."

"You mean, they think _I_ was the one that burned them, huh? That was your plan?"

Magneto's eyes twinkled maliciously. "Oh, that's only half of it. Just wait once they get here…and Cleo realizes that her one true love just tried to kill her…isn't that right – Byron?" They all turned their heads to look into the shadows of the room.

A young man with soft brown hair walked out and into the sunlight, his face slightly pale from being in the dark too long. His blue-green eyes were strangely unfocused and his right arm was…smoldering. He gave Magneto a fixed stare. It wasn't accusing, but it wasn't happy either.

Magneto smiled. "I told you I still had some need of you, now didn't I?"

Byron just looked at him with his unfocused eyes and Magneto laughed. He walked up to Byron and placed a gloved hand on his shoulder. "I know you can see what you're doing…sorry if it pains you to know that you're the cause of her suffering. You should have seen the burns on her body." He gave a wicked grin and walked away, Mystique following.

Pyro stayed, continuously opening his light and closing it. He watched what Byron would do now that Magneto was gone.

But the controlling serum that Magneto had placed onto Byron's neck…the same serum that had been used at Stryker's base…was very strong, even for a Phoenix. All Byron could do was turn his head to the window and look out into the open expanse.

Pyro, though, noticed that Byron's eyes weren't just unfocused anymore. It showed all the emotions that were warring within his heart…torture…loathing…pain…guilt…anguish…

Pyro stood up and walked out of the room.

* * *

A/N: Ok…I can't make any promises as to when the next chapter will be done…but I hope you guys enjoyed this one! Thanks for continuing to bear with me as you all wait so patiently at my absolutely overbearingly slow progress. : p 


	18. Magneto's Plan Part 1 Wear Down

**Chapter 18: Magneto's Plan Part 1 – Wear Down**

By: Galadeidre

**Rainbeauxe: **Personally, I like this name that you gave yourself the best out of all of them. Thanks for reading!

**Jami: **I'm glad you liked the dream sequence. I had fun writing that part. It kinda made me sad, though, but that's ok. I'm glad you like the story!

**This is for the anon. with the "..."(I for some reason can't just put ... Sorry!): **Thanks for reading. And I love your 'name'. Very amusing.

**Chris:** Yes, you are a strange hyper little brother, and I'm glad you like the story. : p

A/N: I hope you all like this chapter. Sorry, it took forever to update again! This was a really long chapter to write. But I'm glad it's been written! Enjoy!

* * *

"Professor, come take a look at this. There's someone…oh, dear God…Professor, it's Kurt and Rogue. Storm is with them, too, but she looks…well…come see for yourself." With that said, the blue-furred doctor rushed to the controls to open the ramp. 

In a split second, Kurt had teleported into the center of the jet. Rogue flew up the ramp and beside the Professor, who had a look of horror as he watched Kurt lower Storm onto the cool metal floor.

"My stars…" Hank muttered in disbelief. He knelt down beside the unconscious weather-mutant to check her pulse. "Kurt, what on Earth happened? And where are the others?"

"The others have split into two groups to cover more ground," Kurt answered. "They spotted a building a few miles from here. Well, Storm was the one who spotted the building…"

"And what happened to Storm?" Hank asked.

"Storm was up above the trees checking out the layout of the island," Rogue spoke up. She shook her head and closed her eyes as she recalled what had occurred back in the forest. Her voice shook as she spoke. "It happened so fast.

Xavier placed his hands on her shoulders and eased her gently into a chair. "Let your mind calm down, Rogue. Try to relax."

Rogue nodded and took a deep breath. "None of us…none of us could react fast enough. Cleo started screaming in pain. I don't know why for and she never told me, but something had been in her head. Then…then she just shot her head up and yelled for Storm to get back down into the forest. Storm was going down, but then…then…"

"Then what?" Xavier asked gently.

Rogue gave a sob. "I felt the warning…but…but it was too late. This…this huge stream of…of fire…came straight for Storm. I didn't know what to do. I…I was scared…even with Cleo's powers."

"So how did you get Storm?" Hank asked, but Rogue was too shaken up to answer. Nightcrawler continued for her.

"Cleo willed the fire down towards her, shielding most of it. She yelled for me to catch Storm as she fell, which I did. Unfortunately, Cleo couldn't fend off all of the fire. She was burned, just like Storm, but Rogue helped heal some of it."

Xavier closed his eyes and wearily asked with a sigh, "Is Cleo all right?" He looked directly at Rogue, obviously directing the question at her.

Rogue looked down at the palms of her hands and spoke softly. "I…I could hear her screaming in my head in pain, but I knew she was trying not to show it. But there's something she's hiding…I know it…you remember when I told you that Cleo was screaming in pain before Storm was burned and I didn't know why for? Well…I think…I think she's hiding something again."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Hank spoke as he helped Kurt lift Storm up onto a mattress.

"But I think she's…she's experienced this pain before. Her mind was blocked real well from me and her eyes had gone real dark. I'm almost positive that she's not telling us something."

"Well, she'll tell us eventually," Xavier reasoned. "Right now, we had best treat Storm and you should rest." He gave Rogue a nod and then turned to the men. "I'm going to try talking to Storm in her mind." Hank nodded and grabbed a huge bag filled with bandages and other first aid supplies.

Rogue watched them for a few more minutes before she turned her head to look out through the window, wondering at what other secrets Cleo had…

* * *

"What are we following?" Bobby asked impatiently as he and Wolverine trudged onwards through the forest. 

"I smell something different."

"Other than bird poop?"

Wolverine glared at him. "Don't underestimate my nose, kid. Yeah, I'm smellin' loads of bird crap, but there's somethin' else. It kinda smells like something burning."

"Yeah, sure."

But it was more than that, for Logan had definitely smelt this scent before. If his mind wasn't mistaking him, he was almost positive that this scent was the same as to what he had smelt in the girls' cottage. It may have been faint, yes, but he had definitely smelt this scent there. He decided it was best not to tell Bobby. Not that it would've mattered. Bobby probably wouldn't have believed him anyway. The kid had been wary of Wolverine ever since they had first met…and quite protective of Rogue.

_Rogue…_he thought to himself, a picture of her flashing through his mind. He glanced at Bobby, and knew immediately that he was thinking about the same person.

"You worry too much, kid."

Bobby's head shot up. "What are you talking about?"

"I mean, you worry too much about Rogue."

"And you don't?"

Wolverine ignored this statement and continued on. "She can take care of herself. And besides, she's got Cleo's powers in her."

"That's what I'm worried about."

This time, it was Wolverine's turn to look surprised. "What do you mean by that, kid?"

Bobby sighed. "I don't think it's a good idea that Rogue's got Cleo in her head."

"That's true, but she's got Cleo's powers to protect her."

"She's got Cleo's powers, yeah, but what about her thoughts? I talked with Rogue a few times. Some of Cleo's thoughts might've accidentally leaked into Rogue's brain while they did all those absorption-transfer things."

Wolverine shrugged, but was slightly worried. "It's only natural. That's what happens when Rogue uses her powers."

"Yeah, but Cleo's thoughts, I think, may be too much for Rogue to handle. There's too many dark secrets that Cleo has. I don't like the idea that Cleo is in Rogue's head."

"I think Cleo knows that."

"You really think so?"

"I'm almost positive. And I'm pretty sure that Cleo doesn't like the idea that she's got to share her mind with someone else either. I don't think you should worry about it too much. I'm pretty sure Cleo'll clear this whole thing up later."

"Well, I hope so…"

"Shh!"

Bobby didn't dare disobey, for Wolverine's face was fierce and his nose was sniffing like crazy. His claws suddenly shot out and, with a roar, he charged forward into the trees. Just before he disappeared from view, though, he gave a shout to Bobby.

"Kid! Behind you!"

Bobby turned just in time to see a long ugly-looking tongue shoot right at his face. He gave a shout and held up his hand, a huge stream of ice shooting right at the tongue. Toad screamed and jumped out of the bushes, holding his tongue. He gave a few more whimpers before glaring at Bobby.

Bobby gave a gulp and started backing away as Toad continued to walk towards him. Toad grinned, licked his lips, and shot out his tongue.

Wolverine jumped into view, his claws slicing through the mutant's tongue and pinning it to a nearby tree. Toad screamed again. Blood splattering on his face, Wolverine turned to where Bobby was frozen in his spot.

"Kid, I may be your babysitter, but you're gonna have to watch yourself, too, y'know! You're a mutant! Remember that!" Wolverine suddenly looked up and held up his hands as Sabertooth lunged for him with a roar. They disappeared back into the forest, leaving Bobby and Toad.

Toad retracted his tongue and charged forward. Bobby, remembering Wolverine's words, took a deep breath and held out his hand, aiming for his target and concentrating on his power.

* * *

"So, tell me, Cleo," Cyclops started. He ducked underneath a branch. "Byron Grey. He was your boyfriend?" 

"If you listened to my story from before, Summers, you'd know that." Cleo jumped over a log and winced as a branch slapped at one of the sensitive scars on her arm.

Cyclops jumped over the same log and caught up with Cleo. "Well, then you've met Jean?"

"Actually, no." Cleo gave a glance at Cyclops as she began to explain. "I didn't go to too many of their family gatherings and they never visited often."

"Oh."

"I heard about them a lot from Byron. Once Jean started gaining her mutant powers…well…you know how scared she can get at times."

"Yeah."

"Byron was the one person, other than Charles, that Jean went to talk to about her mutant problems, and in turn, Byron came to me for advice. He was never a good counselor in anything. Reasonable and understanding, yes, but not a great advice-giver."

"So, by that time, you already knew about the Professor?"

"Charles knew my folks for quite some time. They went back a long ways, I guess. See, my parents not only were purebred mutants, but they were ambassadors to several countries. Since they made frequent trips, they would leave us in Charles's care. Sometimes they'd bring us along, but that wasn't often."

"Why did we never see you then until now?"

Cleo gave a shrug of her shoulders. "We didn't mingle with the mutants at the mansion much. You know…our lone race reasons."

"So I've noticed."

Cleo gave a small smirk at the sarcasm in his voice, but suddenly stopped. "Did you hear something?"

Cyclops shook his head, but kept silent. He quickly scanned the area to confirm his answer.

"I was sure I had heard something." Cleo started to walk towards a set of trees.

"Wouldn't you have sensed if something was wrong?"

"Summers, I've been sensing that this whole island has something wrong on it this entire time, and my brain still hurts from that dang pain that I had before that fire attack."

Cyclops was about to ask what that pain had been from when he suddenly saw a sudden movement. It was a change in color – from green to blue…

…right beside Cleo.

"Cleo! Look out!" He swiftly pressed the side of his visor as Cleo ducked and ran out of the way, a stream of his laser beam shooting towards the changing plant.

Mystique jumped out of the laser beam's way and landed gracefully on her feet, her eyes alight with glee. She charged for Scott and they were soon engrossed in a one-on-one battle.

Cleo was about to run to help Cyclops until she heard a twig snap from behind her. She immediately turned around.

Pyro was walking casually towards Cleo, lighter in his hand. "So you're Cleo?"

Cleo narrowed her eyes as she eyed him warily. "And you must be John Allerdyce."

"Pyro.

"Short for pyromaniac, huh?"

Pyro scowled. "No. That's just my name."

"Really? Who named you? Did Charles or did you name yourself?"

"I gave myself that name."

"Figures. You know, you don't seem like a pyromaniac as much as I thought you'd be."

Pyro clenched his fists. "You're lucky Magneto wants you alive."

"Oh? So what else has he got planned for me?" Cleo started to walk straight up to him. A ways away, Cyclops's laser beam could be heard as trees cracked at the impacts.

Pyro could feel himself wanting to blurt out Magneto's plan, but he resisted. He backed away, opened his lighter, and shot a stream of fire.

Weak as she may have been, Cleo was still quick enough to dodge the fire. As she stood back up, her eyes were suddenly stormy and filled with anger, sending a chill down Pyro's spine.

"So it _was_ you who burned down our cottage." She walked quickly towards him again and punched him in the stomach. It was painful enough to make Pyro drop his lighter, keel over, and groan.

Cleo wasn't finished. She kicked him in the gut as she spoke. "But you weren't the one who burned Storm. You aren't that strong…"

Pyro didn't answer, but kept on groaning.

Cleo scowled and lifted him off the ground by his shirt collar. Her voice was deathly cold as she spoke. "You didn't burn Storm, and I know it, so _where is he_?"

_She knows…_ Pyro thought to himself. He was scared out of his mind, but he wasn't going to show it. He tried playing dumb. "Who are you talking about?"

Cleo pushed him into a tree, pinning him there. "Don't you dare play dumb with me, John! You know exactly who I'm talking about, and it's definitely not Magneto! Where is he, John? TELL ME!"

"I ain't sayin' anything!"

"Well," Cleo started. She held up one hand, which was glowing red, little flames starting to form. "I hope you like fire as much as your name portrays it," she hissed. Her hand erupted into a huge flame, and Pyro looked at it in slight fear.

* * *

Magneto smiled as he looked out of the window. "Wonderful. Everything is going according to plan. Now, let's have some fun, shall we?" He turned around and sighed again in mock pity as he eyed the stone-still young man that was standing silently by the doorway. 

"Oh, I am truly sorry for your pain, dear boy. Really, I am." The young phoenix was silent, but his eyes said it all.

"I know just the thing to cheer you up, though." Magneto walked towards him. "A game. Hide and Seek. Their jet is hidden and I want you to…_seek_ them out. I'm sure you'll have fun. Go on, now." Magneto chuckled and turned around back towards the window. "It's time for your next assignment."

Ruby Phoenix turned sharply around and out the doorway.

Once gone, Magneto held up his hand, which was holding two metal disks. Using his powers, he molded the disks until his end product were hundreds of small metal balls.

Magneto smiled. "Let the games being." All the little metal balls zoomed out and into the forest.

* * *

Pyro bit his lip as he tried to hold back another scream of pain. Cleo's whole hand was as hot as lava, and he could feel sweat dripping down the side of his face. She wouldn't give up, and he knew it. He tried to concentrate and think of what he could do to make her back off. What had Magneto said about her? 

_She hates Magneto…she hates doing bad stuff…_Pyro's eyes shot open as this thought crossed his mind. _She hated doing bad stuff…_ Pyro thought it was worth a shot and began to speak.

"If you hate evil so much, you sure seem to enjoy trying to burn me…"

Cleo faltered and loosened her grip ever so slightly. Pyro punched her in the stomach, making her fall backwards into a nearby tree. He ran up to her before she could regain her composure and punched her in the face. She fell over a log and onto the ground and coughed, a little bit of blood flying out of her mouth.

Pyro was about to run and kick her when he suddenly felt as if a train had collided into his back. He flew over Cleo and crashed into another tree. He yelled in pain.

"Cleo!" Cyclops ran towards the purebred and gently helped her up. "Are you all right?" Cleo nodded and looked over at Pyro, who was trying to get up. She scowled, and started to storm towards him. "We've got unfinished business to take care of…"

"Cleo! Behind you!" Cyclops suddenly yelled out.

Cleo turned around just in time to see a blue leg swing right onto the side of her face. She flew backwards and winced as she tried to get up.

Several miles away, a flock of exotic birds suddenly took flight. Mystique and Pyro watched them for a moment before sprinting away.

Before he left, Pyro quickly snatched his lighter and gave a wink towards Cleo. "Later, Cleo." He then quickly ran to catch up to Mystique.

The birds could be heard cawing in the distance as Cyclops helped Cleo up once more.

"We should go after them. You think you can walk?" Cyclops asked.

"No." But it wasn't a no that referred to Cyclops's question. Cleo was staring at the birds, her eyebrows furrowed in deep thought. Suddenly, she hoisted herself onto her legs, wincing slightly. She turned to Cyclops and hurriedly spoke.

"We have to get out of here. Now."

"What? Why?"

Cleo shook her head. "Something's wrong. We have to head to that building and fast. We gotta go, Cyclops. Now. NOW!" With that said, she started limping forward.

Realizing the urgency of the matter, Cyclops, without a second thought, lifted Cleo up in his arms and started running.

"I can walk, you know," Cleo scowled.

"Not fast enough. Can you fly, though?"

"I'm pretty sure I ca…Oh, dear God…"

Cyclops noticed Cleo's eyes widen as she stared at something from behind them. He quickly looked behind as he continued to run.

Several meters behind them, a swarm of what looked like bees were flying towards them, knocking off branches and whatever else was in its path.

But they were glistening as the sun reflected off of them; they weren't bees.

Cyclops took a few blinks and squinted – a swarm of metal balls. He immediately knew what was happening, but Cleo spoke the word out first.

"Magneto…"

Cyclops swore and continued to run, not looking behind him anymore. He knew the swarm was gaining on them, but continued to run.

"Cyclops" Cleo muttered. Her eyes were staring directly at the swarm. "We gotta make a stand. We can't outrun them. Cyclops!"

"Just a little farther…"

But he was only able to run a few more feet.

A stray metal ball zoomed forward and flew straight into Cyclops's leg. Cyclops yelled out in pain and fell forward, Cleo landing a few feet away. She, too, cried out in pain as she landed on her ankle the wrong way, breaking it.

But both were up as if they hadn't been injured. Cyclops started shooting his laser beam at the swarm while Cleo shot out a few energy blasts. She stared over at Cyclops, whose leg was bleeding profusely.

_His leg isn't gonna hold up. We gotta get to that building. If I'm right and Eric's in there, we'll be safe._ She shot another energy blast and looked in the direction of the building. _What the heck are you thinking, Eric! You'll kill us all…or is that the point?_ She didn't wait for an answer, because she suddenly heard Cyclops yell out. She turned and saw him on the ground holding his leg: another metal ball had struck the same injured leg. The metal balls, sensing that Cyclops was down, were flying right at him.

Cleo scowled and ran to him as fast as she could. She stood in front of him, took a deep breath, and screamed. A sonic blast shot out of her mouth and expanded at a rapid rate, crushing the nearby metal balls and trees.

The swarm fell back for a few seconds, but then flew straight towards them once more.

Cleo stopped her sonic scream and grabbed Cyclops by the arms. She pushed off the ground with her good foot and flew away towards the building, the swarm in hot pursuit.

"Cylcops."

"My leg…"

"I know, I know. We'll get that fixed later. Right now…"

"God, it hurts…"

"Cyclops! Listen to me! Listen to me, Summers!"

Cyclops slowly looked up at her as Cleo flew on.

Cleo stared straight ahead as she spoke. "You can see them, right? Right, Summers?"

Cyclops weakly looked behind Cleo. "Yeah. They're still there…"

"Focus, Cyclops. Focus. Stay with me, Cyclops. You hear me?" Cleo gave him a little shake.

Cyclops weakly nodded.

"Come on, Cyclops. I need you to keep shooting at them to keep them from getting any nearer. Got it? Put you're laser beam to maximum power, all right? Don't hold back. Stay with me, Cyclops. Can you do that? You'll only need to do that until we reach the building. Got it?"

Cyclops blinked a few times before nodding. His hand came up to his visor and he began to shoot out laser beams.

"Good. Good. Keep it going, Cyclops. Keep it going."

* * *

Wolverine swore as he sliced into a tree with his claws and began to walk forward again. Bobby followed and eyed him warily. "C'mon, Logan. Let's just get going to that building. Scott and Cleo probably have made it there already." 

"That's if they didn't run into trouble on the way there." Wolverine sniffed the air, swore again, and kept on walking. "Where they hell did they go?"

"They probably got scared or had orders or something."

Wolverine scowled as he continued to think back to what happened. "Those birds…they left after those birds took flight."

"Coincidence."

"Doubtful. Those two idiots were probably told to do something. Must've been a signal or something…but of what…" He suddenly started sniffing again, and his ears pricked up.

Bobby noticed. "What is it?"

"It smells like…metal?" Wolverine turned around, his sharp eyes noticing something through the thicket. He squinted for a second before his eyes widened. Swearing once more, he pushed Bobby towards a huge crevice in a nearby tree. "Get in there! NOW!"

Bobby did as he was told, but was about to ask when he suddenly heard a buzzing noise. He looked to where Wolverine was facing, claws out, and gasped.

Wolverine gave out a yell and began slicing the small metal balls that came for him.

"Bobby!" Wolverine yelled as he sliced the balls one after the other. "Barricade yourself in! Do it!"

Bobby gave a quick nod and, using his powers, covered the entrance of the hole with a thick sheet of ice. Through the ice, he could make out Wolverine and the outline of the small metal balls. Suddenly, a small group of metal balls stopped in midair and flew towards Bobby's ice sheet. They started pounding into the ice. Bobby backed away as far as he could from the ice sheet and tried to add more ice onto the dying layer, but to no avail. The metal balls were fast and efficient, and Bobby could see the ice starting to crack fast.

"Logan!"

Wolverine turned at the sound of Bobby's voice, taking in the scene immediately. He roared and ran towards the tree, slicing at the metal balls. "Kid, are you okay?"

"They're cutting through the ice!"

"Yeah, I know! Hang in there, kid! Just keep adding some more ice!"

"It won't do any good!"

"Just do it!" Wolverine turned away from the ice sheet – only to be greeted by a massive swarm of metal balls coming his way.

"Christ…" He started to slice away at the swarm, but that didn't do any good, as he and Bobby soon realized.

"Logan! Just get out of here!" Bobby yelled. "I'll just try to freeze them!"

"Ya think I'm gonna just leave you and face Rogue's wrath? I'm not leaving and these things aren't gonna get to ya!"

"There's too many of them!"

"I can handle it," Wolverine muttered, but he knew there were too many. He decided to do the only thing he could do – turn around towards the tree and use his body as a shield.

And the metal balls began to pierce through his uniform and into his skin.

"LOGAN!"

Wolverine choked as he felt the balls embed themselves into his skin. Blood started to pour out of the open wounds and down his whole body. He choked again and felt blood in his mouth. He grimaced and gave a yell of pain.

"LOGAN!" Bobby yelled once more, watching as the sheet of ice in front of him started to turn red.

* * *

"How far back are they? Cyclops?" Cleo flew lower, avoiding a thick branch. 

Cyclops continued on shooting the swarm, ignoring the numbing pain in his leg. "I'd say about ten or fifteen meters or so. They're not far behind."

"We just need to be ahead of them just long enough to get to that building…" A strange sensation shot through Cleo's head, but it wasn't painful. Rather, it worried Cleo. "Oh, please no…"

"What is it?" Cyclops had noticed the worry in her voice. "Cleo?"

"Logan…something happened to Logan…"

"He's fine." Cyclops shot another laser beam, melting a few stray metal balls.

"No…I…Cyclops, I can't sense him…he's absolutely gone. Not a trace of Logan in my mind…"

"Don't say that. Nothing's wrong with him." Cyclops's voice had gone rigid and cold as he listened to Cleo say those last words. "He and Bobby are probably at the building already. He's fine. He's fine…oh, crap. Cleo! There's one coming your way! On your left!"

Cleo looked and noticed a small metal ball to her left. She was about to use her sonic voice, but it zoomed out of sight and went straight for the back of her neck.

Cleo screamed as she felt it shatter one of her vertebrae.

"Cleo!"

Cleo willed the pain away, and tried to heal herself, but her power was draining and she couldn't repair the damaged bone. _I have to get to that building…it's our only chance…_

The pain had made her flinch and slow down just ever so slightly – but slow enough for the swarm to gain an advantage in distance.

"Cleo! Faster! They're gaining!" Cyclops continued to shoot his laser beams.

Cleo tried to speed up, but it wasn't much of an increase. She looked up then and gave a huge sigh of relief: the building was in her sight.

"I see it! There's the building!"

But Cyclops wasn't listening. "Cleo! They're coming! Faster, Cleo!"

But it was too late.

Several more metal balls shot towards Cleo's back, breaking a few more bones in her spinal cord. Cleo screamed and tried to fly faster, but it didn't work. Several more balls shot into her back as Cleo zoomed towards the old relic.

"Cleo!" Cyclops tried helping, but the swarm was now practically on top of them. "Cleo!"

"Almost there…" Cleo's eyes were slowly shutting, but she forced herself to focus for just a few more seconds. They were about ten yards away.

A metal ball struck Cleo in the back of the head. Cleo gave a soft gasp and a sickening gurgle.

"God, no! Cleo!"

Cleo mouthed one word, "Silver…"

Suddenly, Cleo's hands gripped Cyclops's arms a bit tighter and she flew forward, entering the safety of the building. She dropped Cyclops onto the cold stone floor, but was flying too fast to stop herself.

Cyclops looked up just in time to see the young mutant crash into the old brick wall and fall into a deep unconsciousness – and her eyelids close on a pair of bright, flame-orange eyes.


	19. Magneto's Plan Part 2 Ruby Phoenix

**Chapter 19: Magneto's Plan Part 2 – Ruby Phoenix**

By: Galadeidre

A/N: Sorry once again for keeping you all waiting! (Jami…yes, I'm sure you wanna know what happened to Wolverine…). I was gone for camp and haven't been able to do much of fanfic or anything for a good month or so. Ok…so I won't keep making promises that I probably won't keep. I just hope you all keep reading no matter how long it takes for me to update! Thank you all for your reviews!

* * *

Magneto held up his hand and watched through his window. The swarm of metal balls started floating up towards where he stood waiting. Once they had neared Magneto, the swarm formed into one large metal ball, and Magneto set the ball aside. He gave a sigh.

"Ahh, now that was fun." He gave a chuckle and turned around as the door opened.

His four mutant henchmen walked into the room.

Mystique stepped forward and placed her arms around his body. "Everything went well."

"I thought as much." He gave the blue mutant a smile. "Now, get ready for them." He turned back towards the window. "We have nearly achieved our goal."

The four mutants gave a nod and walked out.

* * *

Cyclops gave a glance back at where he had laid Cleo in a more comfortable position. She was still unconscious, her wounds still fresh and bleeding. He thought back to what had happened and gave a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. _She's gonna be in so much pain…_ He looked back again and noticed the small pool of blood that was collecting underneath her head and neck. _Cleo…don't die on me…please._

He suddenly heard a rustling outside near the thicket and turned back around. He carefully scanned the area before he saw two figures coming into view.

"Oh, good God…" Cyclops muttered. "Bobby…" He started limping towards the figures. "Bobby!"

Bobby looked up and called back. "Scott!"

Cyclops reached them and then noticed the other figure with horror.

Bobby followed his gaze and gave a grunt as he hoisted Wolverine up over his shoulder into a better position. "Scott…I don't know…I don't know if he's alive…I can't find a pulse…"

That was all that Cyclops needed to hear. Without another word, he took Wolverine off of Bobby and held his arms. He signaled for Bobby to grab his feet, and they dragged him into the building.

As they gently set him down, Cyclops noticed the small holes within Wolverine's uniform as well as the blood that was still flowing. "Let me guess. Metal swarm?"

Bobby looked up at him first with surprise and then with a dawning realization. "You, too?"

"Yeah. Tell me, did you get hurt?"

Bobby shook his head. "Wolverine took it all."

"Then what happened?"

"I'm not sure. He was yelling in pain and then the swarm just left. I dunno why. I waited for a few more minutes and then looked out from where I was hiding. That's when I saw Logan…and…and he wasn't moving or anything."

Cyclops remembered when Cleo had sensed something wrong with Logan, but shook his head. He was alive…he was sure of it.

Bobby brought him back to reality. "How about you? Did you get hurt?"

Cyclops looked down at his injured leg. "It's not too bad. The pain's practically gone." Which wasn't quite true. The leg was numb, yes, but it had started to swell.

The two conscious mutants suddenly heard a groan and looked down. Wolverine groaned again and tried to move.

Cyclops held his shoulders tightly. "Try not to move Logan. You're safe now."

Wolverine groaned again and tried to move. "I'm…fine…"

"No, you're not."

Bobby spoke this time, "You almost died, Logan."

Wolverine turned to face Bobby. "You…okay?"

Bobby nodded his head. "Yeah. But you aren't."

"I will be." He slowly sat up and cracked his neck. The holes in his skin slowly began to close as his healing powers finally kicked in. "So." He looked up at Cyclops and then nodded towards his leg. "You were attacked, too?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

"Too bad you can't heal yourself. How 'bout Cleo? She can do that..." Cyclops face turned white as Wolverine said this, making Wolverine stop short. He gave a scowl. "Where is she? Cyclops? Cyclops!"

Cyclops hesitated before pointing to where the young mutant still lay unconscious.

In a split second, Wolverine was on his feet and running towards her. "Cleo!" He knelt beside her and propped her head up onto his knee. "Cleo…" He looked up to Cyclops with anger in his eyes. "What the hell happened to her!"

"We were trying to get to this building as fast as we could. She was flying us there, 'cause my leg was injured. Then a metal ball hit her in the spine, she slowed down, and then they just all came pounding at her. The last one struck her in the head."

"And why didn't you do anything about it!"

"What do you think I could have done!" It was Cyclops's turn to be furious. "Do you think I wanted her like this? I couldn't do anything about it! She got us here, dropped me, crashed into the wall 'cause she couldn't stop, and knocked herself out. I tried, all right? I tried making sure those metal balls didn't reach her, but I failed, okay?"

"Well, then why aren't you doing anything?"

"What can I do, but hope that she wakes up some time soon?" He was silent for a moment before he looked back towards Wolverine. Wolverine noticed a tinge of fear in his eyes.

Cyclops let out his breath before speaking again. "And I didn't want to wake her up because…because…I…I think Silver's taking control of her."

"What?" Wolverine whispered, his voice shaking.

Cyclops took a breath, in and out, once more. "Before she was knocked out, I saw her eyes…and…and they weren't Cleo's eyes. They weren't black."

"They were bright orange," Wolverine finished for him.

Cyclops nodded. "I didn't know what to do."

Wolverine was silent for a moment. He then stood up, Cleo in his arms. "Let's go then."

"To where?" Bobby asked.

Wolverine sniffed the air. "Remember that fire that burned Storm? I'm almost positive that that was a mutant's doing."

"John?" Bobby asked.

"No. It's a different mutant. I've smelt his scent before."

"Where?" Cyclops asked.

Wolverine looked up at him, his face solemn. "At the girls' cottage."

Cyclops and Bobby were taken aback. "What?"

"And I think Cleo might know this already." He looked down at the unconscious mutant. "I think this mutant may be Byron."

"Byron Grey?"

Wolverine nodded and looked down again. "But it doesn't make sense. Byron's dead."

"What?" Cyclops, once again, was shocked. "Cleo never told us this."

"She never told me either." Wolverine looked up. "Her sisters gave me that hint."

Cyclops was quiet.

Wolverine sighed. "I'll explain maybe later. Right now, we should get moving. We have to find the kids. This way." He started walking down the hallway to a flight of stone stairs, the others following.

* * *

"Doctor McCoy?" Nightcrawler asked, his voice anxious. "How is she doing?"

Beast sighed. "Well, her vitals seem to be doing well. I'm doing the best I can, so don't worry, Kurt."

At that moment, Storm gave a small groan on the hard table. Xavier and Rogue walked to where the weather mutant was lying.

Nightcrawler stroked Storm's hand. "Storm? Ororo?"

"…Kurt…" Storm turned towards Nightcrawler's voice.

Nightcrawler sighed. "Thank God." The others let out their breaths as they watched Storm begin to regain consciousness.

Their relief, though, was cut short.

A slight pang passed through Rogue's head, causing her to jump slightly. She didn't know how she knew, but she had a feeling that there was a man on the beach, several meters away from the jet. She went to the front of the jet – to see a handsome, young man walking down the beach, hair ruffled as the wind passed through it, hands in his pockets. Something within Rogue told her that she knew him…or was it Cleo that knew him…

"Professor…" Rogue started.

Xavier turned around and wheeled himself towards the front of the jet. The minute he noticed the young man outside, his eyes widened. "I heard that he was dead…"

Rogue caught on immediately. "You mean…that's Byron?" She didn't need to look at Xavier to know the answer to that.

"But there's something different about him…" Xavier whispered. "I mean…he looks the same…but something's not right…"

Rogue squinted as she noticed Byron lift up his right arm. A cold feeling went through Rogue's body and she shivered despite herself. A thought suddenly struck her. "Professor…the jet's invisible, right?"

"Mm hmmm."

"Then how come he seems to be looking directly at us?"

Xavier's eyes widened even more as they both realized what was happening.

Rogue spoke in an urgent whisper, "We should get airborne…"

But it was too late.

Byron slammed his hand down onto the sand. There was a rumble as the sand and ground surrounding Byron began to ripple outwards like ripples on water. It moved with amazing speed, making the jet shake back and forth.

Rogue screamed as they all struggled to grab onto something, Nightcrawler making sure Storm didn't fall off the table. The jouncing of the jet caused by Byron's mutant powers made the invisibility of the jet get knocked out. The jet soon reappeared on the sands and Byron looked up.

Rogue finally was able to grip onto something sturdy and looked out towards Byron – and witnessed a horrific transformation.

Byron's eyes turned as red as blood and his hair changed into a head of fire.

Rogue and Xavier gasped in unison.

"Ruby Phoneix…"


	20. Fight for Cleo

**Chapter 20: Fight for Cleo**

By: Galadeidre

**Fyre –** Hey, thanks for reviewing! And yeah, you're right about Jean. She will show up eventually. Not in this chapter, sorry! But eventually. Won't tell you anymore than that! You're gonna have to keep reading, heheh! Thanks again!

**Jami** – You're right, Byron isn't quite playing nice. Sad, huh? I'm glad you like my suspenseful chapters. And yeah, I couldn't do away with Wolverine. He's one of my favorites. At least, not yet… : p Well, thanks for reading so far! I hope you like this chapter!

**A/N:** To the rest of you readers, thank you for reading and reviewing!

Galadeidre

* * *

Wolverine finished climbing up a flight of stairs and looked both ways down the empty hallway that greeted him before walking down in one direction, Scott and Bobby following. He scowled and looked back at them. "Y'mind hurrying up a bit, one-eye?"

"What does it look like I'm trying to do?" Cyclops grimaced as he gripped Bobby's shoulder for support. "At least my legs haven't given way entirely, or you'd be carrying me."

Wolverine snorted. "Don't count on that one. Besides, one's good enough." He shifted his arms underneath the deadweight that he carried.

Cyclops face changed as he glanced down at the still-unconscious Cleo. "You think she's gonna wake up anytime soon?"

Wolverine sighed. "It doesn't seem so. We'll have to finish this mission without her then." Cyclops nodded at this, but they all realized that there was a good chance that they could fail and never leave the island.

"C'mon." Wolverine turned back around and started forward once more.

Bobby was looking at their surroundings – an old hallway filled with dust and cobwebs, fluorescent lights, some that were broken here and there, gray tiles and gray, metal walls. "Where are we?"

Wolverine was glancing at each of the doors that they passed, all of which were closed. There were faded labels on each door, and he walked towards one. He blew off the dust on the label and squinted to read it in the dim light. "Prep Lab: _Branta hutchinsii_, or whatever the heck you say that…Cackling goose…and some other stats that I don't really feel like reading."

"This is an old research lab, from the looks of it. It looks like they haven't been researching for a long time, though," Cyclops muttered.

"Some bird sanctuary," Wolverine muttered. He suddenly stopped short and started sniffing. "They're here."

The others didn't need to ask what he meant about that. Cyclops immediately took his grip off of Bobby's shoulder and struggled to stand as best as he could. His hand immediately went up to the dial on his visor, getting ready to strike.

Wolverine walked over to Bobby. "Here. Take Cleo, and make sure to watch after her. Understand that, kid?" Bobby nodded and propped Cleo on a wall.

No sooner had he done that, than when a roar was heard from where they had come from. Sabertooth lunged for Wolverine and Wolverine immediately struck his claws at him. He sliced at Sabertooth's cheek, forming a wide gash and turned around, in time to see Mystique kick him square in the face. He fell backwards.

"Logan!" Cyclops started forward, but Bobby yelled, "Cyclops! Behind you!"

Cyclops turned around and shot his laser beam, not stopping to think who was behind him. The laser beam hit Toad in the chest, sending him backwards to the far end of the hallway. He hobbled over to Toad, keeping his hand on the dial.

"Hey, Bobby," another voice replied from a darkened hallway, near Bobby. Bobby turned around to see Pyro walking towards him and into the light of the main hallway. Bobby's eyes narrowed. "John."

"I left that name a long time ago." He, too, narrowed his eyes, and he flicked his lighter open. "Now, I think it's about time that we fought against each other, don't ya think? Fire and ice? Let's see who'll win." He shot his hand forward, a stream of flame shooting straight at Bobby. Bobby shot a stream of ice at Pyro, freezing the fire instantly. "Ice'll always win, John."

"It's Pyro!" And soon, they were engrossed in a one-on-one battle.

Mystique noticed this and immediately left Sabertooth to deal with Wolverine. She slyly hurried towards where Cleo had been left beside the wall and was about to grab hold of her, when Cyclops noticed her. He immediately shot a laser beam at Mystique, sending her into the wall.

"Logan! They're after Cleo!" The one-eyed mutant ran towards where Mystique had fallen, forgetting about Toad.

Toad grinned and jumped onto the wall, the ceiling, the opposite wall, and onto the ground in front of Cleo. He leaned forward to lift her onto his shoulders, but was stopped short as three adamantium claws sliced through the skin of his arm. Toad screamed in agony.

"I don't think so, bub," Wolverine growled. He was about to slice at Toad with his claws, but was stopped as Sabertooth lifted him up over his head and threw him through a metal door and into one of the empty rooms.

Seeing that he had a clear shot to grab Cleo, Toad once more began to lift Cleo over his shoulders. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Bobby shoot a few chunks of ice in his direction. He dropped Cleo and jumped out of the way. As he did so, he turned to glance at Bobby – just in time to see Pyro shoot a ball of fire onto Bobby's arm.

Bobby cried out in pain and gripped his arm, dropping to the floor, groaning.

Pyro watched Bobby fall down and then turned to glance at Toad. He jerked his head towards where Toad had dropped Cleo. "Magneto wants her alive! Take her and get her to Magneto!"

Toad rolled his eyes. "Don't you think that's what I've been trying to do!" He scowled and turned, once again, towards Cleo. First checking to make sure the other mutants were preoccupied, he then shot his tongue. He smiled as it started to wrap around Cleo's body.

A hand suddenly had Toad's slimy tongue in a death grip.

Toad gave a choke as he tried to yank his tongue backwards. He looked up…

…straight into a pair of black, abyss eyes.

She slowly got up and narrowed her eyes at Toad. "I hope you liked your first experience of being electrocuted," she hissed. "'Cause this'll be the second!" She squeezed his tongue and several bolts of electricity ran up his tongue and into his body, making him yell out in pain. The shock sent him flying backwards into the middle of the other mutants.

Mystique noticed Cleo awake and gave a jerk with her head. Immediately, Sabertooth had grabbed Toad, and Pyro had sent out a stream of fire that engulfed the Brotherhood. They disappeared within the flames before anyone could comprehend what had just happened.

"Bobby!" Cyclops yelled out.

Bobby held out his good arm and froze the fire before it had spread any farther.

They all looked at Cleo.

Cleo let out her breath and fell to the ground.

Wolverine was the first to be beside her. "Cleo? Cleo!"

"I'm…fine…" Cleo whispered as she took a deep, uneven breath. "But I…I can't…move…too…weak…yet…"

"At least you're awake," Wolverine remarked. "We thought we might've lost you."

Cyclops nodded. "Cleo…did Silver…"

"Yeah…" Cleo closed her eyes and breathed once more. "She…took over…for a while…it's…getting…easier…for her…to…to control me…" She opened her eyes and gave a small smile. "Don't…worry…I'll be…fine…"

"Well, now we've gotta move and find out where Magneto is. He's here somewhere." Wolverine sniffed the air. "I can't find their scent."

"S'all right…" Cleo tried to move herself to sit upright, but to no avail. "I…managed to…to drain…some of Toad's…memory…I know…where…they are…"

"Well, that's a relief," Wolverine muttered.

Cleo turned slightly to look at Bobby. "Arm…"

Bobby tried to cover his burned arm with his sleeve. "It's nothing. I'll be fine. Besides, you're too weak to heal anybody right now."

Cleo gave a small nod and sighed. "Later…maybe…" She looked up at Wolverine. "We…we should go…"

"Well, seeing as you can't exactly stand up at the moment, look's like I'll have to carry you." Without another word, he lifted her up and glanced at Cyclops. "Ready?"

Cyclops nodded as he gripped onto Bobby's good arm. "As best as I'll ever be at this point."

"Good enough." Wolverine looked back down at Cleo. "Show us the way."

Cleo nodded and pointed down the hallway, finally giving up on trying to be strong and leaning her head on Wolverine's shoulder. Wolverine nodded and they began to walk down the hallway – getting ever so nearer to Magneto…


	21. Ruby Phoenix

**Chapter 21: Ruby Phoenix**

By: Galadeidre

**A/N: Here's the next chapter! Hope you all like it! Sorry it's taking me forever to write. I'm really trying to write more! Really, I am! It's…just not working…;p. Anyways, I'll shut up now…have fun reading! Galadeidre

* * *

**

The jet violently shook as everyone in the jet grabbed hold of something sturdy.

Beast pressed a button on his vision modifier, revealing his true form – his blue fur glistening as the sun caught it. With impressive agility, he lunged forward to the controls. "I'm getting us out of here!" He swiftly pressed several buttons on the control panel, lifted a handle, and gripped the steering wheel. The jet immediately began to come to life, its engines flaring. Slowly, it lifted up into the sky.

Rogue was watching the figure on the sand as it grew smaller…but something wasn't right. "Dr. McCoy, you have to hurry."

"Patience is a virtue."

"Not right now, it isn't." A hint of fear began to creep into her voice. He was watching…from the sands…he was looking up at them…letting them get away…

The Ruby Phoenix shifted his feet in the sand then flew straight up towards the jet.

Rogue gasped as Xavier yelled. "Beast, get us out of here!" Xavier's eyes were white with fear.

Beast tried to veer the jet away from the upcoming Phoenix, but to no avail. The Ruby Phoenix grabbed hold of the tail end of the jet, making the jet give a sudden lurch because of the impact, the passengers within losing their balance.

Nightcrawler gripped onto the unconscious Storm's arm. "We must get off this plane!"

"Agreed," Xavier replied "Quick, Kurt. Teleport Ororo off the jet first." Nightcrawler nodded and disappeared in a blue haze along with Storm.

Suddenly, a hissing noise sounded from the backend of the jet. The remaining X-Men turned around.

To their horror, the metal structure of the jet was melting. The alarm went off, and Beast turned back to the control panel as Nightcrawler reappeared. "We're losing altitude!" The jet tipped downward towards the sea as the hissing sound continued.

"Kurt!" Beast turned toward Nightcrawler, his voice barely calm. "Hurry! Get the professor out! We haven't got much time!" Immediately, Nightcrawler grabbed hold of the professor and his wheelchair and teleported out.

Beast turned back to the control panel and began to fiddle with the buttons as a last attempt to keep the jet airborne for a little while longer.

Rogue was watching the melting metal. She didn't need to see him to know what he was trying to do. But why?

Nightcrawler reappeared and faced her. "Come on, Marie. We must leave before it is too late."

Rogue was staring at the metal; she could see Phoenix's glowing hand through the melted structure now. Scared as she was, she knew she had to at least stall him. "Take Beast. I'm gonna try to stop him."

"What!" Both Beast and Kurt stared at her, incredulous.

"I'll be fine."

"Rogue, I don't think that that's…"

"He'll keep chasing us if I don't do something." The hole was getting bigger and the jet tilted more steeply.

"But what _can_ you do, Rogue?" Beast asked.

Rogue sighed and looked down at her hands. They were trembling. "Cleo gave me some of her powers. I'll use that."

"Marie," Kurt replied softly. He warily eyed the large hole. "Will that be enough against a Phoenix?"

"I hope it'll be enough to stall him." She glanced at the two others, her eyes finalizing her decision. "Now go."

Nightcrawler hesitated for a moment longer, and then took Beast's arm. He looked at Rogue. "God be with you." He and Beast vanished in a blue haze.

Rogue sighed and faced the back of the jet. She could feel the sweat on her forehead and neck. She closed her eyes and extended her mind towards the Professor.

_Rogue?_

_Professor, you probably know already, don't you?_

_Yes, and I don't like the idea, but I know I can't stop you._

_Mmm._ She began to levitate. _Can you try to save the jet, though?_

_I'll do the best I can._

_Thank you._

_Rogue…please…be careful._

Rogue nodded and drew in her breath. Ruby Phoenix had efficiently made a large hole in the back of the jet, large enough for Rogue to fit through with ease. Any minute now, he would be entering the jet. She couldn't let him do that. She spotted his hand – still glowing red-orange – about to enter through the hole.

Rogue let out her breath. "Time to play fire with fire." She concentrated, willing Cleo's power into her hands and aiming them towards the hole. She knew her power wasn't enough, so all she could hope for was to catch him off-guard. A stream of fire shot out of Rogue's hands.

She was lucky – the stream impacted with the Phoenix's chest, sending him flying backwards in the air.

Rogue quickly flew out of the jet, by way of the hole, and scanned the sky for the Phoenix. She spotted him floating several meters away, eyes blazing at her. His hands began to glow and several fireballs started racing towards her. She squinted her eyes in the bright sunlight to gain a better view of the incoming danger, readying herself to dodge the fireballs.

She dodged all except the last.

_Rogue!_ Xavier's shout rang through her mind.

Rogue thought quickly and held her glowing hands towards the last fireball.

_I must be insane,_ she thought, but braced herself for impact.

The fireball shot straight into her hands, numbing her arms for a few seconds. Rogue willed all the power she could muster and pushed the fireball back towards Ruby Phoenix. Immediately after that, she threw another fireball.

Ruby Phoenix noticed Rogue push the first fireball back to him and held out his arms to stop its momentum. He had not realized that she had thrown a second fireball, which had been Rogue's intent. The second fireball sent him falling into the ocean, sending a huge fountain of water flying upwards.

Rogue shielded her face from the incoming spray and waited for the water to fall back down into the lake. She then began to scan the water's surface for signs of the Phoenix.

He was nowhere to be seen.

Panic started flooding into her brain. Where was he? She couldn't risk him surprising her. She probably wouldn't be able to stand a surprise attack from him. She continued to search through the sky.

A voice shot through her head the same time Cleo's warning instincts rang through…

_Get in the water – NOW!_ Rogue immediately flew into the water, without a moment's hesitation. The minute she was submerged, she heard a loud and deafening explosion above her. She opened her eyes and looked up noticing a huge cloud of smoke and fire where she had been floating a moment ago.

A hand was placed on her shoulder as she treaded underneath the water. She quickly turned around, fearing that it was the Phoenix.

To her relief, it was Nightcrawler. He held out his hand, which she took, and in a puff of blue haze, they appeared beside the Professor and the others.

Drenched and cold, Rogue collapsed onto the forest ground.

"Rogue, are you all right?" Xavier asked in worry as Beast knelt down beside the young mutant.

Shivering, Rogue managed a nod. She noticed a figure resting beside Xavier's wheelchair. "Ms. Munroe?"

Storm nodded and gave a weak smile. "I'm glad you're all right."

"Same goes with you."

"I'll be fine." Storm nodded her head. "Good job out there against that Phoenix." She gave a small wince. She had stopped bleeding a while ago, but her wounds were still open.

"A very good job," Nightcrawler agreed. He knelt down beside Storm to help her stay upright.

"He won't bother us for now. Where did he go?"

"We're not sure. All we saw were two rather large fireballs colliding where you had just been levitating. The Professor, here, immediately told Nightcrawler to retrieve you underwater, but there hasn't been any sign of the Phoenix anywhere," Beast commented.

"Best not stay in this area, though," Xavier spoke up. He glanced at Rogue. "I managed to keep the jet from crashing. It's in need of some repairs, so I think that it's best that we go back to the jet. I've hidden it from view in the forest, so I think we'll be safe for now."

"Thank you." Rogue stood up, with the help of Beast. "And thanks, Professor, for warning me to get into the water when I did. If you hadn't, I probably wouldn't have survived that explosion."

Xavier gave a frown, confused. "What warning? I don't believe I ever warned you of those two fireballs."

Now it was Rogue's turn to look confused. "You never told me to go in the water?"

Xavier shook his head.

"Then who did?" Rogue frowned for a moment longer before dawning apprehension came to her. "Unless…"

Xavier and the others caught on quick enough.

"It does make a bit of sense," Beast remarked.

"Maybe he isn't as bad as we thought," Storm said.

"I suppose we'll just have to wait and see," Xavier replied. "Come." He began to travel through the thicket towards the jet, the others following.


	22. XMen vs Brotherhood : Ruby Phoenix

**Chapter 22: XMen vs Brotherhood - Ruby Phoenix**

By: Galadeidre

"Stop," Cleo whispered with alertness. A shiver had run down her spine as someone whispered in her head.

_Cleo..._

A vision flashed through her mind, and she noticed a flaming head of hair.

"Hey," Wolverine muttered, breaking her thoughts. "Cleo."

Cleo shook her head and replied, "Wait one sec. Something's wrong." She concentrated her thoughts on contacting Xavier.

_Charles?_

_Cleo, is that you? Thank goodness you're all right. And the others?_

_They're alive at least. Bobby & Summers aren't in the best of conditions, but they're still breathing. How's Storm holding?_

_She's conscious now, but isn't in any condition to be moved at the moment. I was beginning to worry._

_Same here._ _I just had a bad feeling about things. Anything happen?_

_Actually, yes._ _Ruby Pheonix found the jet._

Cleo froze. _What?_

She heard Xavier sigh. _Cleo...Ruby...Byron showed. He's alive...but something's not right about him. _

_Wh..what_ _do you mean? _

Xavier took his time in replying. _He attacked us, Cleo. He's not the Byron that we know. He destroyed the jet and nearly killed Rogue._

Cleo was finding it hard to breath. _Ruby...Byron...wha...why..._

_Cleo, breathe. Focus. Have you found Magneto?_

Cleo closed her eyes and took a deep breath: in and out. She concentrated on the task at hand. She couldn't lose control, not when her very life was on the line. She took one more deep breath before she spoke.

_We're almost there. But we'll need your help._

_We'll come as soon as we can._

_Thanks._

With that said, Cleo opened her eyes and looked at Wolverine. The other three XMen had been slowly walking as Cleo had been conversing with Xavier.

Wolverine looked down at her, quizzically.

"The others will be coming, hopefully soon." She looked up as they turned the corner and noticed some glass double doors at the end of the hallway. She pointed in that direction. "That way."

The others obeyed and soon they had pushed through the doors and into a large dome-shaped room, its walls and ceiling made out of glass. The room had been set as a bird's habitat: many trees, bushes, grass, foliage, and the dirt ground with a stone pathway weaving within for the scientists that had ventured through this room.

The XMen found themselves on the second floor: a balcony wound around the sides of the room with a railing to prevent one from falling several feet down to the dirt ground.

They weren't able to enjoy the scenery for long though.

"Well, it is about time that you all made it," came a mocking voice followed by a small chuckle.

The foursome looked to the other side of the room. There, standing on a third floor balcony was Magneto with his four henchmen.

Magneto smiled. "We've been expecting you."

* * *

"How is it coming, Hank?" Nightcrawler asked as he teleported beside Beast and Xavier.

Beast pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and wheeled out from underneath the control panel. "Well," he started, slapping his hands together several times, "the controls are now working. We would be able to fly out of here...except for the fact that we have a rather enormous hole within the back of the jet."

"That could be a problem," Storm replied, who was relaxing in a chair.

Rogue had been half listening to the conversation when a shiver passed down her spine. She looked out the front windows of the jet and gasped. The others immediately looked to where she was staring.

Ruby Phoenix was flying in the sky -- in their direction.

"Can he see us?" Rogue asked in a whisper.

"I don't know," Xavier whispered back. "But let's keep quiet."

They didn't make a noise as Ruby came closer and closer. As he got nearer, they realized that Ruby wasn't even looking in their direction, but rather straight ahead. He passed overhead and continued flying towards the building that Storm had spotted earlier.

"I don't like the feeling that I'm getting, Professor," Rogue whispered. "We have to find out where he's going."

"Agreed, but I will stay here with Storm. She can't be moved," Xavier remarked.

"I'll go with Rogue," Beast replied. He glanced at Nightcrawler. "And what about you, Kurt?"

Nightcrawler shook his head. "I'll stay here, just in case something else happens while you are gone."

Beast nodded and jumped down from the plane. Rogue followed.

"Good luck," Xavier called to them as they left.

"God protect them all," Nightcrawler replied. Storm gave his arm a squeeze.

* * *

Wolverine slowly lowered Cleo down to the floor, making sure that she had a firm hold on the railing before he glared at Magneto and shot out his claws. "Where are they, Magneto?"

"What are you up to?" Cyclops asked, his hand poised on the dial of his visor. His other hand was gripping the railing as he struggled to stay upright on his good leg. Bobby was beside Cyclops, glaring at Pyro.

"Oh, just a little something that will change the face of mankind," Magneto answered carelessly. Then his tone changed into all-seriousness. "I'd advise you to not get in the way of our plan."

"Too late, Erik," Cleo hissed.

Magneto raised his eyebrows and gave a smile at Cleo. "I'm afraid it is too late. For you, at least."

Cleo knew what he was talking about and chose to ignore the comment. Her eyes narrowed. "Where are they, Erik? Where's my sisters and Lex?"

"Oh, they're safe. Don't worry about them. I'll take good care of them. After all, you trusted me with Lex didn't you?"

"Where are they!!" Cleo screamed. She pounded her fists to the railing, sending an earthquake effect through the whole entire room, causing a few of the mutants to lose their balance.

But that wasn't the only thing that happened.

As Cleo threw her fists down to the railing, her hands began to glow a hot red and her eyes burned with fire as a shimmer of silver reflected through her jet black hair within a split second.

But everyone had seen it – and Cleo had definitely felt it.

Cleo immediately gave a gasp as if she was suddenly out of air and she fell to her knees, clinging onto the railing. She was shaking from head to toe as sweat dripped down her face. Her eyes showed surprise and shock as well as a hint of fear: she was losing to the creature within her.

Magneto's eyes glinted madly and he grinned a wide, toothy grin. "She is almost here. At last…she will finally show herself to me…"

Wolverine had knelt down beside Cleo to help her regain her breath. He looked up as he heard Magneto make his latest comment. "You'll never be able to control her, Magneto. If Cleo can't control her, what makes you think you'll be able to?"

Magneto chuckled. "My dear boy. It is not only I that will be controlling her. No…I am not that ignorant as to not realize that I will need help in containing the extraordinary phoenix that Cleo has been taking care of. Of course I'll have help."

"What do you mean by that?" Cyclops asked. He winced as he tried to move his injured leg. "Who could possibly have enough power and strength to control a phoenix like Cleo's?"

"Oh, you don't know?" Magneto asked in mock surprise. "Of course, I must fight fire with fire, so what better opponent for Cleo's phoenix than another phoenix of equal strength?" He waved his hand to the ground floor. Underneath where the Brotherhood was standing, the XMen could hear the slight tapping of feet. A figure slowly walked into the light, making Cleo suck in her breath and choke back tears.

The other XMen knew immediately who he was as the newcomer looked up at them with blood-colored eyes and a head of flames.

A lone tear escaped down Cleo's cheek as what Xavier had just recently informed her was proven through the cold, unfocused eyes of their new nemesis.

"Cleo," Magneto remarked, smiling. "I believe you have met Ruby Phoenix…or Byron Grey."


	23. XMen vs Brotherhood: Silver Phoenix

**Chapter 23: XMen vs Brotherhood – Silver Phoenix**

By: Galadeidre

Rogue gave a sigh and punched the stone wall. "Ever since we entered this building I haven't been able to pick up any trace of Ruby Phoenix anywhere! How could I have possibly lost him?!"

"Don't blame yourself, Rogue," Beast replied as he finished dusting off an old door sign. "There are a lot of different powers at work here. Who is to say that he can't somehow mask himself from other mutants?"

"Well, what are we going to do now, then? This whole place is a maze."

"I suppose we will have to search each hall and room until we find one that will lead us to an answer."

Rogue groaned as they turned a corner. "That's gonna take us forever."

"Patience, my dear. Patience. We will find something eventually. Perhaps we will even run across Cleo and the others. They could definitely help us."

But Rogue had long since stopped listening to Beast. She was staring down towards the end of a dimly lit hallway at the door on the other end. "Dr. McCoy. Is that…is that an elevator?"

Beast squinted in the darkness to get a better look. "I believe so. Where do you think it leads to?"

"I dunno," Rogue muttered. "I'm getting this weird feeling…like a hunch. We should go."

"Rogue…" Beast started, but Rogue had already started walking towards the elevator. Beast sighed and ran to catch up with her.

"Perhaps we should find a stairwell," Beast started as Rogue pushed the elevator button. "It would most likely be safer than an old elevator shaft. This building is so old; it's probably not even in working condition anymore."

At that moment, the elevator door gave a small _ding_ and opened.

Rogue looked at Beast. Beast shook his head. "I still don't think it's safe."

"Safe or not, I'm gonna risk it." With that, Rogue stepped in, Beast following with some reluctance. He glanced down at the other levels listed in the elevator. "Should we start searching from the bottom up?"

Rogue shrugged. "Why not?" She pushed the button marked 'LL' and watched as the doors closed them in.

The elevator, though, didn't even budge an inch lower.

The two mutants looked at each other.

"I don't like the scenario that we're in," Beast remarked.

No sooner had he said this, than a large creak was heard and the elevator jerked downwards a few inches with a screech.

Rogue grabbed hold of the railing on the elevator walls. "I don't like this."

Another screech sounded and suddenly the elevator was dropping down the shaft at an incredible rate.

Rogue screamed. Beast grabbed hold of Rogue and wrapped his arms around her as a shield.

For what seemed like an eternity, they continued to fall rapidly until they landed with a crash on something soft enough to break their fall, but not soft enough to protect them from the elevator crumpling in.

Beast grimaced as he pushed some of the debris off of himself. "Rogue, are you all right?"

Shaking and breathing unevenly, Rogue gave a nod. She looked down and noticed that the floor was wet. "Water?"

Beast also looked down and then towards the bent elevator doors. With a bit of difficulty, he pushed them open, allowing some more water to come flooding in. Noticing the warmth of the water between his toes, he looked out of the elevator and then back towards Rogue. "I think we've landed in a hot spring." He turned back around and pulled the elevator doors apart with a grunt and walked out, Rogue following.

True enough, they had landed in a hot spring. As they looked around, they noticed the stalactites and stalagmites on the ceiling and floor. There were small holes in the ceiling, where the afternoon daylight was filtering in and they could hear the sounds of the canopy wildlife high above them.

Beast gave Rogue a nudge and pointed to one end of the underground cave. "Look."

Rogue squinted in the dark. "Is that a hallway?"

"I believe so. Come." Beast jumped ahead as Rogue summoned Cleo's power to form a small fireball for light. They reached the end of the hallway and down a long flight of steps and to a wooden door. Beast opened the door and they both stepped into a dome-shaped room.

Beast looked around in wonder. "Incredible. This reminds me of the internal structure of Cerebro." He looked to the other end of the hallway and noticed a metal door. Jumping to it, he tried to open it, but to no avail. "I think I may need your help on this."

Rogue nodded, forgetting her fireball, and holding onto one end of the wheel on the door, Beast holding the other end. With a bit of effort, they managed to finally turn the wheel and pry the door open. They were about to step in, when a rather large mass came flying towards their direction with a loud roar.

Rogue screamed and tripped, falling down on the floor, while Beast tried to block himself from the creature. As the creature landed on Beast, making him fall, Rogue noticed the head of dark blond hair and sensed something pass through her. "Liz?"

Liz stopped and looked up as Rogue rekindled her fireball for light. "Rogue?"

Another head popped out from the partly open door. "Liz, did you just say Rogue?" Ana's voice chirped up.

Liz grinned. "Rogue!!" She jumped onto Rogue and gave her a hug. "Are we ever glad to see you!" She then turned toward Beast, and helped him up. "Sorry 'bout that, Dr. Hank. I thought you guys were Magneto or one of his goons. Oh, I almost forgot!!" She ran back into the room as Ana came out, giving Beast and Rogue a hug. "I can't believe you found us!! We thought we'd be in there forever!" She buried her face in Beast's fur as Beast lifted her up in his arms.

Liz came back out with a bundle in her hand. She looked and grinned as Rogue gave her a quizzical look. "Rogue, I'd like you to meet Lex: our baby brother."

Rogue smiled and tickled his chin with her free hand. "I remember him from your home. I'm glad he's all right."

"Same here. Hey, where's everybody else?" Liz asked.

Rogue and Beast looked at each other.

"We haven't found them yet," Beast replied. "Storm was badly injured, and so Professor Xavier and Kurt are staying with her at the jet. They may come join us later on. We haven't found the others yet. They're already in here somewhere, but we don't know where. We need to find them, and soon. I don't think that they're faring well, and they may need our help. I just hope it's not too late."

Liz and Ana's face had turned serious, as they had begun to comprehend the graveness of the situation.

"Well," Liz began, "First thing's first: we gotta find a way to get outta here. How'd you guys get here?"

"There was a hallway that we followed down here," Rogue answered. "We could retrace our steps back towards the elevator. I doubt that we're anywhere near the abandoned bird facility, what with the long hallway and that endless flight of steps."

Beast nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Let's hurry."

* * *

Cleo slowly dropped to her knees, holding onto the railing above and looking down at their new nemesis. "Byron…" She shook her head slowly as her voice choked on the name. "Byron, please…please, no…"

Ruby just stared lifelessly up at her. He took another step forward and began to levitate, slowly flying up to their level. Wolverine, Cyclops, and Bobby backed away from the railing, as Ruby came closer towards them. With a bit of difficulty, Cleo stood up to face him. She looked straight into his blood-colored eyes.

"Byron…you have to be in there somewhere…please…please don't do this…" Another tear dropped down her face,

Something glimmered through Ruby's eyes, and Cleo held in her breath. His hand began to come up to her cheek, he was so close to her now…did he recognize her?

But all of a sudden, Ruby's hand clasped around Cleo's neck, squeezing her windpipe shut. Cleo choked for air as Ruby lifted her up from the balcony. "By…ro…n…"

Magneto laughed as he watched with an evil gleam in his eye. "How tragic. You should have realized by now, Cleo, that it's too late for Byron. He's long gone. All that's left is the Ruby Phoenix." He gave another laugh.

Ruby gave Cleo a final squeeze around the neck and threw her down to the bottom. Debris flew everywhere, as Cleo impacted with the stone pavement.

Magneto clicked his tongue with a grin. "I told you, my dear. It's a losing battle for you."

There was still a cloud of debris surrounding the area of Cleo's fall, but it didn't matter. The air had suddenly filled with foreboding. Wolverine and the others were looking down, squinting to see if they could see any signs of movement within the cloud. Even Magneto's henchmen were suddenly spooked. It was Bobby who spoke up first.

"Is it just me…or do you guys get the feeling that we probably shouldn't be here right now?"

* * *

From different areas of the island, the rest of the mutants had stopped, all receiving a strange chill down their spine.

Xavier looked out the window of the jet and towards the bird facility. "We need to go…now…"

* * *

Rogue stopped in her tracks. They had just reached the underground cave with the broken elevator and the hot spring. She looked up through the small holes of the ceiling. "It's too quiet," she muttered. "I'm not liking this."

Liz also was looking up at the ceiling. "So you're feeling it, too?"

"I think we should hurry," Beast replied softly. Ana immediately took one of her cards, expanding it like a magic carpet and floating them all up through the elevator shaft.

* * *

The cloud of debris began to settle, and they all could see Cleo's silhouette. Ruby flew down towards her, preparing himself with two fireballs in his hand.

It didn't do him much good.

Cleo suddenly outstretched her arm towards Ruby, sending a massive fireball zooming straight into Ruby, pushing him into the wall.

"Oh, Ruby…" she muttered with a chuckle. "You've actually managed to be controlled by a mere mutant? That's just pathetic."

Wolverine frowned. "That's not Cleo…"

Sure enough, as she straightened up from the debris, her hair glistened in the setting sun. She turned towards Ruby and opened her eyes, revealing pupils with a bright orange flame

Silver smirked. "Don't worry. I'll teach you the true meaning of being a Phoenix." She gave a maniacal laugh and looked up at all the mutants in turn. "Because Silver's back in the game…and ready for revenge…"


	24. Silver Phoenix

**Chapter 24: Silver Phoenix**

By: Galadeidre

"This is not good," Cyclops spoke as Wolverine muttered, "Crap.".

Silver laughed as she glanced at the shocked mutant faces in turn. She slowly flew up until she was eye level with Wolverine. "What's the matter, Wolfie?" Wolverine was trapped as he was frozen in her bright-orange stare. "Is the dog scared of the bird?" She gave a malicious grin as she gently and mockingly patted his cheek. She began to speak in an overbearing-motherly tone. "Oh, don't you worry, puppy. You'll be dead soon enough."

A fireball slammed into Silver's back, making her inch forward towards the railing of the second floor balcony. Wolverine and the others took a step back, covering their faces from the sudden extreme heat.

Silver rolled her eyes, annoyed, as she turned around and looked down towards the wielder of the previous attack. Ruby was up, once again, and staring at her with blank, blood-red eyes.

Silver sighed, exasperated. "First, that was more of an itch than a tickle. Second, did I tell you yet how weak you are?" She zoomed down towards him, and, in a matter of moments, had pinned him against the wall, her forearm against his neck. "What made you think that that tiny fireball would have any effect on me? Have you really gotten that soft in the head, Rubes? Huh?" She glared at him, but then noticed the blank stare that he was giving her. She waved her free hand in front of his face; Ruby's expression gave no sign of recognition, and Silver smirked. She turned around to stare at Magneto, who was watching the scene with oblivious delight. "I have to admit, Eric. That controlling serum you have him under has quite the effect."

"Well," Magneto started arrogantly, "it helps that he's using a mutant host."

Silver laughed knowingly. "True, true." She gave Magneto a smile. "But don't think that trick will work on me."

"Nonsense. What gave you that idea?"

"Just your stupidity." She glared. "You wont come within ten feet of me with that stuff. Ill burn you alive."

"Now, now, Silver, my dear. Let us be reasonable. How about we form a compromise of sorts?"

"Compromise?" Silvers eyes flared and her whole body turned into flames. "I'll show you my idea of compromise!"

She threw Ruby across the room, making the Brotherhood scatter out of the way. Before he had even landed on the ground, she had pinned down Ruby, slamming into his back. Ruby yelled out in pain as Silver's heel dug into his spine. Silver screamed and lifted her arms up in the air, a long burning sword of fire forming, which she immediately jabbed down into Ruby's skin. Ruby cried out, and Silver followed her fire-sword with an enormous fireball in her right hand. She jumped off of Ruby's back and up into the air as she threw the fireball into Ruby's head. The impact of fire-on-fire was so great and so bright that the entire room lit up and wind and debris flew outward from the impact point.

As the light faded and the debris settled, the mutants looked up to see Silver breathing heavily in anger, her face furious. Ruby was lying as still as a stone on the ground.

"Oh, my god," Cyclops muttered in horror.

But Silver's full power had not yet been fully realized by Magneto. He continued to reason with her. "Amazing strength that was, Silver, dear. What glorious power! You are a goddess above all creatures. And to think, your friend Ruby couldn't even lay a finger on you."

Silver glared at him. "How many times have I said that he was weak? He was never as strong as I was! Never! Don't you dare mistake him to be in the same rank, let alone power, as me!"

"My apologies, my dear." Magneto lifted his hands up in feint defeat. "You have proved your strength...and your ruthlessness. Ruby Phoenix didn't stand a chance against you."

At this, Silver's entire body flared up again. "Don't you dare talk about Rubes that way! You have no idea what we have been through, so don't you even think of talking about Ruby as if you've known him your entire life!"

The obvious contradiction between Silver's last two statements confused the mutants. Magneto, though, gave a slight bow of his head. "Forgive me, Silver. I was completely out of line when I last spoke."

He continued to try to reason with her as Wolverine, Cyclops, and Bobby looked at each other.

"What makes someone kill a friend, yet stop anyone else from insulting them?" Bobby asked in a hushed whisper.

"I'd like to know the story behind that one," Wolverine responded back.

* * *

"That attack came from over there!" Ana remarked, pointing to the set of glass double doors that led into the first floor of the bird sanctuary. They ran through the doors, only to be greeted by destroyed greenery and debris...and a floating Silver several meters away glaring at Magneto. No one had heard them enter in.

"Oh, no," Liz whispered, devastated as she spotted the dark side of her elder sister. "Oh, no no no no."

Ana was on the verge of tears as Beast held her in his arms. "What are we gonna do, Lizzie?" she hiccupped. "I don't like Silver. She's mean to Cleo. I want Cleo." But Liz didn't have the answer for that.

"Psst! Rogue! Hank!"

The newcomers turned to see Wolverine, Cyclops, and Bobby climb down a flight of stairs from the second floor down to their level. They ran up to greet them.

"Liz. Ana. Glad to see you're okay." Ana held her arms out towards Wolverine, and Wolverine obliged to carry her in his arms. He noticed the bundle sleeping in Rogues arms. "I'm glad at least one of us is resting."

Beast took the sleeping boy out of Rogue's arms. "Best that he doesn't wake up to witness this." He gently covered Lex's face and ears to muffle out the sounds of Silver's yelling.

"What are we gonna do, Logan?" Rogue asked quietly. "That's Silver out there, not Cleo. But we cant hurt her. Can we?"

"I don't know," Wolverine muttered. "You got any bright ideas, Cyclops?"

Cyclops shook his head solemnly. "None that would prevent all of us from dying."

"What's that idiot, Magneto, doing out there?" Liz spoke up incredulous. She wiped the tears that were forming in her eyes. "Is he insane? He's actually trying to talk to her?"

"Better him, than us," Bobby muttered.

* * *

Magneto was slowly realizing that communicating with Silver was a losing game. He had not thought this entire scenario through. _I have to attack her by surprise. That's the only chance that I've got. I need to get her under my control._ He watched Silver continue to rant and glanced at Mystique who was standing behind Silver. Mystique gave a knowing nod and beckoned for Sabertooth, Toad and Pyro to quietly come towards her. When their plan was relayed, Sabertooth roared and lunged for the flying Phoenix. Toad crawled up the wall and launched out his slimy tongue as Pyro shot out a large stream of fire from his lighter.

Silver immediately stopped talking and turned around. She flew aside to dodge Sabertooth's enormous body, grabbed hold of Toad's tongue, and allowed the stream of fire to be absorbed within her body of flames. Sabertooth lunged once more, this time managing to land on Silver and send her toppling to the ground. He held onto her as Mystique jumped and kicked her in the chest. Mystique jumped again to kick her, this time in the face, but Silver's free arm came up to grab her ankle. Silver screamed as she sent a wave of flames out from her body and through Sabertooth, Mystique, and Toad, sending them flying to the outer ends of the room, burnt and unconscious.

Pyro attacked again as her back was turned, but the fire stream simply dissipated into her body. Silver turned around and glared at him, holding a red-hot fireball in her hand. She sent it flying straight at Pyro. Pyro held up his hands to block the attack, and caught the fireball within his palms. He struggled to push it away from him. Silver grinned and screamed, making the fireball expand even larger. The energy behind the attack was too great for Pyro to hold off. His arms gave way and the fireball sent him slamming into the wall, near the XMen. Beast ran up to assess the extent of the burns on Pyro's body, Bobby following.

Silver flicked a strand of her hair from her face. "And I thought you would've all learned your lesson by now. Pity." She turned around to face Magneto, whose eyes had begun to show signs of fear. She gave a menacing smile. "And you, _my dear_, Eric. Its your fault they're all unconscious. What made you think that they could jump me? Remember." She tapped her temple. "I'm using Cleo's body. So my strength plus her mutant abilities makes for quite an invincible creature." She laughed. "It's such a great feeling, you know? To have such power like this! To have been lucky enough to have found perhaps the strongest mutant on this planet and to use her as my host! I just absolutely love her mind powers! They're my favorite. 'Cause if I wanted to, I can just mind-read everyone here and maybe even kill you all with just a thought. Or maybe I could...hey, hey, HEY!" She dodged a mass of metal shards that Magneto had sent her way and angrily turned back on him. "I was talking to you!" She swooped down to the metal master and grabbed his cape, dragging him up into the air, and throwing him back down to the ground.

Magneto managed to soften the fall by controlling his metal outfit before crash-landing into the floor. He gagged and coughed as Silver landed on him, the impact pressing him further into the debris-ridden ground. Silver carelessly continued to talk. "Can I just say that fighting you and your goons is actually more like a warm-up for me? I mean, come on, Eric! Im a Phoenix! Its like I'm just swatting flies, it's that easy!" She leaned down towards Magneto, whispering in his ear. "And you just made the mistake of crossing paths with a _really_ ticked off Phoenix. So, therefore...you're end won't come nearly as soon as you'd like it to." With this, she grabbed hold of his cape and threw him across the room like a rag doll, flying towards his landing point to continue the torture.


	25. Ruby's Disclosure

**Chapter 25: Ruby's Disclosure**

By: Galadeidre

"He is so dead," Bobby muttered as they helplessly watched Magneto being tossed around.

"She's just playing with him," Wolverine growled. "She doesn't even care!"

"We gotta find some way to help him," Liz spoke up. "I mean, I hate Magneto and all, but Silver's just slowly killing him! We gotta do something!"

"Like what, kid?" Wolverine asked. "You'll just get in her way. We're no where near strong enough to fight against her."

Just then, they suddenly heard a groan. They looked several yards in front of them, where a previously-thought-dead Ruby was struggling to move.

"Byron!" Liz exclaimed. She started forward towards him, but Wolverine grabbed her around the waist, beckoning for Rogue to take Ana. "Wait, Liz! That's not Byron! That's Ruby Phoenix! And he's under Magneto's control!"

"No, no!" Liz clawed at Wolverine. "Let me go! Let me go! It's Byron! He's hurt! I gotta help him!"

Ruby overheard and grimaced as he pushed himself to stand upright and slowly make his way towards the XMen. The mutants backed away in caution.

"Please..." Ruby whispered. He looked up, revealing blue-green eyes instead of the blood-red that they had begun to get accustomed to.

"See?" Liz remarked. "It's Byron! It's Byron!" She escaped from Wolverine's grip and ran to Byron, helping him as he collapsed into her arms. She slowly dragged him towards the rest of the XMen. "It's okay, Byron. You're gonna be okay."

"Should we trust him?" Cyclops asked to the others.

Rogue stepped out to help Liz bring Byron to safety. She looked at the others and nodded her head. "It's Byron. I can sense it." As she said this, Byron gave out a sigh and his head of flames returned to its normal soft brown hair.

"But he could still be under Magneto's control," Wolverine growled, his claws coming out of his skin.

"No..." Byron whispered, getting the attention of the others. "I'm not...the serum...that was left over...was burned away by Silver...when...when she attacked me from behind." He opened his eyes, breathing heavily. "Ruby Phoenix...is trying to heal himself as quickly as he can...cause he knows he has to stop Silver..."

They all looked up to see Silver toss Magneto from the ceiling and into the ground. Magneto, oddly enough, was stubborn enough to still be standing.

"We have to end this," Cyclops muttered. He looked down at Byron. "And you say that your Phoenix can stop her? Didn't Ruby already try that? He nearly died."

Byron weakly shook his head as Ana knelt down beside him and embraced him. He gave her little arm a squeeze. "With the serum in his system, he wasn't able to harness his full power...cause he couldn't think for himself. He may stand a better chance now than before...and he may try to talk her out of whatever she's planning..."

Wolverine snorted. "Fat chance of that." They all ducked as debris came flying towards them; Silver had sent a fairly miniature-sized fireball to Magneto, sending the old mutant flying backwards.

Byron grimaced and suddenly closed his eyes.

"Byron?" Liz asked quietly.

Byron opened his eyes and held a steady gaze in the other mutants direction. "Ruby Phoenix needs to talk to all of you. He says he's got some explaining to do."

Wolverine stepped forward, his claws and hands poised. "He sure as hell does! But if he so much as tries to blow smoke in our eyes, his head's comin' off!"

"Wolverine!" Ana cried out as Liz blocked Byron from view. "Ruby Phoenix is a good guy! Don't you dare touch him!"

"Understood," was all Byron said. He closed his eyes once more. Suddenly, he gave a sharp gasp and shot open his eyes. In a split second, his head had turned into flames once again.

Wolverine grabbed Liz and Ana out of the way, as he glared at the Phoenix who was coughing back to life.

Ruby took a couple shallow breaths before looking up at them with his blood-red eyes. He gave a small smile to Liz and Ana. "I wish I could say that this was a happy reunion, little misses, but considering the present circumstances, I don't blame you if you hate me."

Ana wriggled out of Wolverine's grasp and ran to give Ruby a hug. Ruby slowly returned the embrace and then looked up at Wolverine. "And I wouldn't blame you, Wolverine, if you hated me, either. I am sorry for the trouble that my kind has caused the inhabitants of Earth, particularly the mutants here...particularly your friend, Ms. Monroe."

"Storm?" Wolverine barked as they all realized what he meant. "You nearly killed her!"

"And for that I am _truly_ sorry." He guiltily looked to the ground. "I could see what I was doing, but could not stop it, as hard as I tried. I never meant for this to happen...but I assure you, I _will_ set things right, starting with Silver."

He slowly stood up as he spoke, but Cyclops stopped him.

"And how are you planning to do that? Byron said that you wanted to try talking to her. What'll that accomplish?"

"Please. I have to try. I need to give Silver a chance to set things right."

"Why?" Liz snorted. "She's done enough damage. Why do you even need to think about giving her a second chance?"

Ruby sighed. "It's...complicated..."

Liz rolled her eyes as Wolverine smirked and muttered, "You and Silver sound like a couple."

Ruby steadily looked up at him. "We are."


	26. Amethyst Phoenix

**Chapter 26: Amethyst Phoenix**

By: Galadeidre

All eyes gaped widely at Ruby Phoenix as the truth of what he had just said sunk in.

"You have got to be kidding me," Cyclops muttered as Bobby gave a low whistle.

Liz pushed her way past Wolverine and in front of Ruby, her arm pointing out towards the battlefield. "A _couple_?!" she hissed. "You're married to _her_?"

Ruby gave an uneasy sigh as he gently touched Liz's arm to calm her and shook his head. "Well…in the terms of the inhabitants of Earth, we're not _married_. We were…together…for a lack of better words. We could never be anything more than that…"

"Please," Beast spoke curiously. "If you could explain?"

"Yeah, _please_," Wolverine muttered dryly, folding his arms in irritation. "How does a phoenix like you, ever end up liking a phoenix like her? One too many fireballs to the head?" They all ducked as a stray fireball landed several yards from where they were gathered. They looked out as Sabertooth roared and lunged at Silver, smoke rising from his singed clothing. "And make it quick. We're like live bait at a shish kabob here."

Ruby sighed and nodded. "Please…you must understand. Silver…she wasn't always like this. She…she was kind, and loving, and filled with laughter…"

"_Really_ hard to believe, Ruby," Liz interrupted, annoyed. "_Really _hard."

"I know what it looks like, and I understand. If…if only you had met her before…" Ruby shook his head as he recollected himself. "Silver was of a higher rank of phoenixes. Part of the royal flock. I was the son of the Head Guard, assigned to protect their line. On our home planet, it was forbidden for those of the royal line to mingle within the flocks of lower ranking. But…Silver and I grew up together. We were close friends long before that rule was enforced upon us. And even after we were both told that we were not to be seen conversing in such a relaxed manner, well, both Silver and I were never good with following the strict rules of our home…

"If only we had, perhaps things would have been different. But nevertheless, I eventually completed my training as part of the Guard; my main charge was none other than Silver herself…which made things even more complicated. I suppose…in the less descriptive term of what happened was, one thing led to another and Silver soon was found pregnant with our child."

"You and Silver had a baby?" Ana asked in surprise. They ducked again as the metal walkway above them rattled on impact of another fireball.

Ruby patted Ana on the head and closed his eyes, his voice cracking as he continued to speak. "She was carrying our child, yes…but it was forbidden. The royals wanted to keep their bloodline pure; any royal was only allowed to mate with another royal or a phoenix of equal status. No exceptions. And I was not of a high-enough status to count as suitable for Silver.

"Word spread quickly enough that Silver was carrying a forbidden phoenix child. We were all punished. I was sent to solitary confinement underground for the rest of my years, with no hope of ever seeing the outside light ever again. I would be left to rot and be absorbed within the core of our planet after a few centuries time. Silver was to be disowned from her family for her treachery, but since she was the sole child of her family lineage, she was pardoned but immediately given an arranged marriage with a phoenix from a nearby flock."

"So she's bitter that she had to marry some other bimbo that wasn't you?" Wolverine chimed in. "Doesn't give her a reason to destroy our planet."

"Of course it doesn't, and that isn't the reason," Ruby answered, his tone suddenly bitter. "The punishment for her of an arranged marriage…my eternal confinement...that wasn't a punishment. That we could have handled. It was what they did to our daughter that was a sure guarantee of driving her over the edge of sanity.

"Our daughter…we had planned to name her Amethyst. I can still imagine how lovely of a phoenix she would have been." Ruby leaned his head on the wall, hot tears falling down his cheeks. He opened his eyes and looked up to the ceiling as he audibly inhaled and exhaled. "If our child had been male, there may have been some hope for him. They would have probably given him to a wanting family and trained as part of the Guard, forever unbeknownst to him that he was actually part-Royal." He looked down, eyes open and unfocused, the tears starting to run continuously as he spoke. "But she was female, and considered useless to her half-royal lineage. The order was sent to have her…executed…the moment she was born. She was left to die in the Tundra – a sector of our planet that was a forever frozen wasteland of nothing but blizzards and endless dark mountains and snow-covered ground. And of course, being birds of continual fire, this is considered the _severest_ punishment – and Silver was forced to watch our Amethyst freeze to death. To give birth to our child, have her stripped from your arms the minute she breathed her first breath, and then thrown into the blizzard, watching as her new baby flame turned from its vibrant live orange to a soft blue…to nothing but a wisp of smoke from a bundle no bigger than a pile of charcoal. Listening to her own flesh and blood screaming in agony from the cold and the pain, crying out for her mother or her father or for _anyone, _to hearing nothing but the sickening howl of the blizzard wind. _That_ is what sent her over the edge."

Ruby stopped and looked down, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably as he tried not to sob out loud. His detailed story had stunned the mutants to complete silence, all sick to their stomachs as they tried not to replay the gruesome story within their imaginations. Ruby continued, his head in his hands, his voice muffled.

"After they confirmed the death of our daughter, they brought Silver home. They may as well have left her there at the edge of the Tundra, because I could truly believe that her soul died alongside our daughter. From that moment on, Silver was as silent as death itself. She locked herself up in her quarters for several weeks; and when she finally reemerged…well, my Silver never really did. The phoenix that came out of her room is the phoenix that you all know today – set for violence and bitterness. Silver began to train with the Guard and was completely ruthless. She was lost and gone, separated from anyone and everyone. Not caring. Not living.

"My father came to my confinement every day to give me news of Silver, worried that no one could do anything to bring her back to her old self. I begged him as well as the royals if they would let me speak to Silver, but of course, that was clearly not an option. So my father would just give me what little news he had of her.

"I suppose it was worse for her, what with her being forced to live her normal day-to-day life, as if a forbidden phoenix child had never been born from her. Being forced to pretend that she was happy. From what I heard, her arranged marriage was short-lived. Her husband could never coax a word from her and must have eventually given up. But I'm sure, Silver was screaming within herself. I was. Deep in the underground dungeons where not a single soul could hear me, that's where I released my anger. I had lost my daughter, and I was sure I had lost Silver. I felt so useless, and continuously beat myself up for these unfortunate events.

"Everything continued to worsen. Particularly for our home planet. Tremors began to be felt throughout the lands; the core of our planet was steadily collapsing, resulting in the balance of temperatures shifting and cooling our planet at a rapid rate, making our home turn into an eternal Tundra. The cold was infecting all of the phoenixes, making them sick, leaving them to die with no hope for a cure. Those who hadn't been infected were in a state of panic and trying to leave our home as soon as they could.

"My father came down after several weeks of absence from his visitations with me. He had the keys to the dungeons and unlocked my cage. The minute I saw him, I knew he didn't have much time left to live. His flame had turned a dull, sickly blue-green; he was in the last stages of the infection. I had been lucky enough to be one of the few that hadn't caught the infection yet. I asked him if he had seen Silver, if she was all right. My father didn't know where she was, or if she was even alive. It had been absolute chaos on the planet, with all of the phoenixes vying for the last of the pods that could carry them far away from our home before they, too, succumbed to the infection.

"We ran to the surface, where the tremors were much more intense. The minute we inhaled fresh air, my father collapsed and gave out his last breath. Before he passed, he urged me to get to the private hangars of the royals, since he had keys to access it, being the Head Guard. There were bound to be a few pods left that none of the other lower-class phoenixes had knowledge of.

"And so I ran, trying to make sure none of the infected were following me. I didn't know if the infection was contagious. I made it to the hangar and found one of the last useable pods, and flew out as quickly as I could, with no set course. As I left our planet's atmosphere, I turned to give it one last look, watching as my own home collapsed and turned uninhabitable, destroying those left on its surface by turning into a frozen graveyard.

"And so I traveled for several decades, not knowing where to go. Just searching for any signs of life or for any other fellow phoenixes that may have made it out alive. I eventually reached this solar system and spotted Earth. I left the pod and began to fly towards your planet, in hopes that I could start a new life here. As I neared, I spotted another phoenix also heading towards Earth. It was as if destiny and irony were working side-by-side; there was no mistaking the other phoenix. I would never forget her, no matter how long we were apart. I called out to Silver and she turned.

"She looked a bit surprised to see me, and for a moment I thought she would fly up for an embrace, happy to be reunited once again. But the next moment, she gave me a grin that I had never seen her make. Full of mischievousness and malevolence. The stories my father had told me of Silver being completely lost within herself were confirmed. She turned back around and sped towards Earth's surface.

"No matter what happened, I knew I couldn't lose her again. I had to get her back. And so I followed. She immediately set her eyes on Cleo, and I in turn took Byron, in hopes of getting her back to the old Silver that I knew. And that's where our stories continue to the present day."

"But you haven't gotten her back. And I really don't think you're going to be able to," Cyclops commented. "There doesn't seem to be any of the old Silver left in her."

Ruby shook his head. "I have to try. I owe it to our daughter to set things right." He slowly stood up, Ana and Liz supporting him, and took a deep breath. He looked up as Silver knocked Sabertooth and Mystique to the side, accompanied with two fireballs. "Silver's the only one I have left. And it kills me to see her like this."

"Well, bub," Wolverine remarked, his claws slowly appearing as he pointed a finger at Ruby's face. "You had better make sure she's got a complete change of heart. Or you'll have more than just the death of your daughter on your conscience."

Ruby calmly glanced at Wolverine. "I understand. And if it comes to it that I can't convince her – which I hope it doesn't – I will personally be the one to stop her, at any cost. If our Amethyst was still here with us, I know she wouldn't have wanted to see her mother like this."

The other mutants watched as Ruby slowly began to levitate off the ground, his skin glowing and his hair burning brighter. Ruby turned to face them, his eyes solemn.

"You know," Wolverine started, "that that's sick, right? The fact that your own kind could kill off a newborn baby just because it didn't fit royal protocol?"

Ruby gave a half-hearted chuckle. "Why do you think we're in this predicament?" He turned as he heard Toad give a scream of pain and sighed uneasily.

"Good luck," Ana whispered, tugging on Ruby's pants leg. "I hope Silver becomes normal again. I'd like to see what she's really like."

Ruby flew back down and gently hugged the little mutant, kissing her head of curls and smiling before standing up once again and walking into view of his beloved phoenix.


	27. To Save Silver

**Chapter 27: To Save Silver**

By: Galadeidre

Silver groaned, exasperated. "Erik!" she whined as she crossed her arms behind her head and floated lazily in the air. "I'm extremely bored! It's no fun to toss you and your Brotherhood around anymore. Particularly when you can't even fight back. Truthfully, you couldn't when you were in good health, but now you're mirroring the beings of a rag doll!" She laughed in delight.

"Then fight a more worthy opponent," a voice spoke from behind.

Silver stopped laughing and turned, cocking an eyebrow. "Ruby…?" She stared at him a moment longer before breaking out into a wide grin. "Well, well, well. It's you through and through. It's been a while since I've heard your eloquent voice."

Ruby just stared at Silver, standing as still as a statue.

Silver scowled. "Don't you dare give me that look. You have no right, Ruby, none! You don't know what I've been through. You weren't there!"

"And I punish myself for that every day, Silver. But the same goes for the inhabitants of Earth. They weren't there. They weren't a part of it." He slowly levitated to her level as he spoke.

"Perhaps not, but at the rate they're going, they're destroying themselves anyways, what with their blatant disregard for their children. The abuse, the wars, the ignorance."

"That is your rage and frustration speaking, Silver. Don't let that cloud your judgment. There is enough love and care on this planet that these people were given the chance to love."

"A mistake of the gods," Silver scoffed. "Which I am willing to correct. These creatures must be purged for their mistakes."

Ruby's arms were suddenly wrapped around Silver, as he had sped to her side to envelope her in a firm embrace. Silver faltered as Ruby urgently whispered in her ear.

"Silver, _please_. We mustn't repeat the flaws of our kind."

Silver's eyes flashed and she angrily threw a fireball to break their embrace. "Get off me, Phoenix!" she screamed. "How dare you touch a Royal!"

Ruby was devastated, and he looked away to mask the pain. His hands began to glow. "I'm sorry, Silver. But I cannot let you harm these people."

"You would turn traitor to your own kind and protect these creatures?" she hissed.

"I would, yes." Ruby looked up, his blood red eyes glistening with tears. "For you, Silver. And for Amethyst."

Silver halted, hesitating for a moment, but then shook her head in frustration. She screamed as she zoomed upwards, throwing a fireball to the glass-domed ceiling. Ruby melted the falling shards as he sped to catch her.

The other mutants ducked for cover as the rest of the shattered glass and metal came crashing to the bottom floor. Once making sure the children were safe, Rogue began to fly up to the skyward battle.

"Rogue!" Bobby called out. He and Wolverine ran out from their hideout. "It's too dangerous!"

"Get back down here, kid!" Wolverine called out.

"I have to help Ruby!" Rogue called back from where she had stopped mid-flight. "Silver's too strong. Ruby's gonna need the help!"

"Rogue, you aren't a phoenix! You only have the partial powers of one," Cyclops tried to reason.

"It's better than none! I've got to try!" With that, she flew up to the sky to meet the phoenixes.

Bobby yelled out and ran forward, but Wolverine held him back. "Let her go, kid, let her go. She needs to do this. There's nothing you can do to stop her." Bobby stopped struggling, but walked away, frustrated.

They heard Magneto chuckle weakly from where he laid in a pile of rubble. "That girl was always a feisty one." He slowly stood up with the help of Mystique. Sabertooth, Toad and Pyro appeared beside Magneto, bruised and battered, but as defiant as ever.

"It was your thoughtless plan that got us into this mess," Cyclops retorted.

"Thoughtless?" Magneto's eyes widened in mock offense. "The plan was for Silver to show herself. She's such a beautiful creature, don't you think?"

"Yeah, did the plan call for her not following your orders?" Wolverine scowled as he pointed to the old mutant with his claws. Magneto ignored this comment and just looked up to the sky. The other mutants followed his gaze and watched as the plan to save Silver became more impossible with each fireball created.

* * *

_Henry,_ Xavier spoke.

Beast looked down as he focused on the voice in his mind. _Charles?_

_What's happening? All of a sudden, we saw the ceiling of the dome collapse from the outside. Is that Cleo flying up there?_

_Unfortunately, yes. Well…correction, it is Silver that is flying. Her and Ruby. Rogue joined to help stop Silver's rampage, but I fear the worst. _

_As do I. What happened? _

Beast quickly gave Xavier a summary of the recent past events – from Cleo's transformation to Silver, to the truth about Silver's past. Once Beast had finished speaking, Xavier wearily closed his eyes and exhaled.

_Get the others out of there. We won't be any use to Ruby or Rogue if we're caught in the line of fire. I've managed to land the jet closer to the building, so as quickly as you are able to, get back to the jet. We need to prepare ourselves for anything. _

Beast nodded his head in agreement. He turned to the others. "Charles says we need to get back to the jet. Just in case."

"But they're still in the middle of a fight up there!" Liz remarked.

"Yeah, but Hank's right," Cyclops said. "Their fight's just gonna continue outside. We're sitting ducks down here if we don't at least have a plan of escape just in case this plan doesn't pan out. Let's move."

They began to file out of the old bird sanctuary, when Ana pulled on Wolverine's arm. "But what about them?" She pointed to Magneto and his group, who were staring at them as they exited, but not moving.

"Leave them, sis," Liz retorted. "They deserve it."

"No, we can't, as much as it kills me to say it," Cyclops muttered. He called out to them. "The jet's outside, if you care to know."

Magneto gave a smirk, but slowly walked forward, leaning heavily on Mystique. The others followed.

Wolverine snorted. "They can come onto the jet, but hell if I'm waiting for them." He lifted up Ana into his arms and started sprinting through the halls to the front entrance, the others right behind him.

They had just exited out through the front doors and had spotted the jet several meters away, when Wolverine had to dodge a large fireball that had been thrown in their direction. Ana screamed as they realized that the fireball had carried a half-conscious Rogue into the dirt ground. Bobby was yelling as he tried to run to her, but was held back by Beast.

Silver landed swiftly in front of Rogue's body, facing the other mutants, blocking their path to the jet. She was breathing heavily and a fresh cut was oozing blood across her cheek and down her neck. Yet she looked up at all of the mutants with a malicious grin, boring down on them with her vibrant, flame-orange eyes. "Where do you think you're going?" she hissed with a heavy breath.

"Please!" Bobby started, "please, just let Rogue go! She doesn't deserve this!"

"She got in the way!" Silver grinned as she placed the heel of her boot squarely on Rogue's neck. "She was the one who decided to join the battle. She could've just joined your group of cowards, as you all ran for your life. Let me tell you, Bobby-boy. No place is safe for any of you. Once I'm done here, there won't be anywhere for you to run to!" She lifted up her arm, forming a fireball, and stared at Rogue, giving off an ear-piercing shriek.

Ruby suddenly barreled right into Silver, making the both of them tumble in a fiery heap on the ground. Ruby struggled to pin down Silver's arms as he jerked his head up. "Get to the jet! Hurry!"

The other mutants quickly scampered across the battlefield and into the forest, where the jet lay half-hidden. Bobby and Beast stopped to grab Rogue, who was slowly starting to regain consciousness. She tried to stand. "I…I have to…to help…"

"Rogue, no!" Bobby ordered. "You're in no condition to help right now!"

"I…can heal…myself…"

"Not while you keep adding more injuries." Beast lifted her up through the ramp of the jet while Bobby held onto Rogue's hand. Rogue had closed her eyes, trying to concentrate on Cleo's powers to heal her wounds.

Wolverine noticed and sliced out his claws. The others looked at him. "Well, either we can sit here and do nothing, or we can try to help out. There's a 50-50 chance we'll be alive or dead after this whole thing, so why not go out with a bang." With a roar, he charged down the ramp and towards the two phoenixes.

"Logan's got a point," Cyclops started. "No harm in trying." He followed after Wolverine, with Beast, Liz, and the Brotherhood following.

Bobby stayed firmly by Rogue's side. Rogue opened her eyes to stare at him and he gave her hand a squeeze. "Heal up. Then we'll go and fight." Rogue nodded and closed her eyes. Bobby looked up to catch Xavier's eye, a hint of fear in his own. Xavier gave a small nod in understanding.

* * *

Silver threw a huge wave of fire from both her arms at her oncoming assailants. She gave a laugh as they were all thrown backwards. "Come on! Bring as many as you want! I'll still beat all of you!"

Liz roared as she leaped onto Silver's back. Silver flew sideways to avoid her and caught her by her hair. Liz screamed as Silver yanked her backwards and into a tree. The Phoenix's hand gripped Liz's neck, choking the air from her. "Oh, Lizzy, dearie. You're just too young and inexperienced to fight me. You should call your sister, she may be able to help you…oh, that's right. _I'm _your sister!" She cackled as her hand glowed, and the smell of burnt skin from the werewolf mutant's neck became pungent. Tears slowly rolled down Liz's eyes as she tried to loosen the phoenixes grip and kick herself free.

"Let her go!" Wolverine roared as he dug his claws into Silver's back. Silver screamed and dropped Liz to turn and aim a fireball into Wolverine's face. Wolverine fell backwards as several cards from Ana's deck came zooming and exploding in Silver's face, momentarily blinding the phoenix and giving Cyclops an opening to aim his laser into Silver's chest. The impact caused Silver to fall into the thicket, dazed and angry. She shrieked as she stood up and slowly walked towards them, her entire body steaming in fury.

Bobby and Ana ran to Liz, helping her up and back towards the jet; several of the other mutants charged forward to stall Silver's onslaught. Bobby gently placed his ice-cold hands to soothe the sensitive burns on Liz's neck as Ana clung onto Liz's arms. Liz was breathing heavily and shakily, tears now a constant flow down her cheeks.

Ruby flew towards the jet, his eyes wide with concern for the young mutant. "Liz…"

"You need to stop her," Liz whispered urgently. "She's crazy…"

Silver suddenly gave a scream and zoomed high up into the air, sending several fireballs crashing like a downpour towards the mutants below. The others on the battlefield were hard put to dodge the attacks.

"You're pathetic," Silver hissed, her eyes narrowing as she observed the weakened mutants below. "This planet doesn't deserve to live." She quickly flew away and into the distance.

Ruby's eyes widened as he chased after her. "Silver! No!" he yelled.

"Where's she going?" Cyclops muttered to the others as they watched the two phoenixes fly farther away.

"She's heading towards that mountain over there," Beast observed as he limped towards Liz to assess her wounds. Mystique helped Magneto walk halfway down the ramp of the jet to observe the distant phoenixes.

"What for?" Cyclops asked.

Mystique's eyes widened. "She's going to use the mountain…she's going to trigger the core…"

"She's gonna what?" Bobby asked. The others looked at her in confusion.

Xavier was the first to catch on to what Mystique was trying to explain. "She's going to the mountain to use it as a guide to destabilize the Earth's core. To destroy our planet."

"How's that possible?" Cyclops muttered uneasily.

"By causing an inverted volcanic eruption through that mountain," Beast replied in sudden fear. "She's going to throw a fireball into that mountain and into the Earth's core!" Suddenly, the ground trembled violently, throwing several of the mutants off-balance.

"Ruby was too late…" Xavier whispered helplessly as he stared at the distant specks of light that were fighting against each other in the distance. They were flying rapidly back to their direction. "I'm afraid…that there is nothing left for us to do…"

"No!" Wolverine growled, extending his claws. "There's got to be a way. There has to be! I'm not gonna just be a sitting duck here as Earth explodes from the inside out."

"Logan, my boy, there's nothing we can do now," Magneto remarked. His face held no traces of humor as all of them began to realize that their fates had been sealed. The tremors were rapidly increasing in violence and smoke could be seen from the distant mountain. "We are at the mercy of the Phoenix."

They all heard Silver give a loud shriek of laughter as she flew back towards them, Ruby right behind her. "Do you see that, mutants? And you, Magneto? What of your precious quest to be the dominant species on your little planet?" She gave an angry shriek as she dodged a fireball from behind her. "Ruby!"

"Silver! Stop this! You cannot do this!" Ruby tried to grab her foot, but was knocked back by a stream of fire.

"I can, and I have! It's too late, Ruby! Earth doesn't have much time left! So say your goodbyes while you have the chance!" She stopped in mid-air as she said this, and threw another stream of fire towards Ruby, sending him spiraling down to the ground. The earth was shaking and crumbling as Silver's fireball reached the core of the planet. Silver herself was still afloat, high in the air, overlooking her masterpiece, a crazed grin plastered on her face.

Ruby slowly stood up, with the help of Beast and Cyclops. He sadly looked towards the others. "I…I am terribly sorry. I was not able to protect any of you or your planet as I had promised. I…I could not save her…"

Ana gave a sob and buried her face in Liz's arms as Liz gave her a helpless embrace. Rogue, who had done as much healing of herself as she could, slowly walked down the ramp and placed her hand on Liz's shoulder in comfort. All of them were trying to come to terms with their inevitable end.

"Well," Wolverine muttered, "we may not be able to save our world, but at least we can try saving other worlds." The others looked at him questioningly, and he answered as he jerked his head up to Silver. "Like I said, may as well go out with a big bang. I ain't gonna let her live if we die."

"Logan!" Ana sobbed. "But that's Cleo!"

"Not anymore, it isn't," Cyclops replied. He sighed. "Cleo's gone. That's Silver now."

"No!" Ana screamed. "We can't kill her! We can't kill Cleo! Lizzie! Lizzie, tell them we can't kill Cleo!" She gave her sister an urgent shake as she sobbed.

Liz was no better than her younger sister, tears streaming down her face. She sniffed as she struggled to wipe the salt water from her face. "Ana. _Ana_. Stop." Ana stopped shaking her, but was still crying. Liz looked down at her little sister and let out a deep breath. She shook her head. "They're right. And even if Cleo is still inside of Silver, she wouldn't want us to let her live and destroy other planets. No…Cleo would want us to end this…she would want us to do what's right." Ana began to sob even harder as Liz hugged her.

Ruby glanced at them with downcast eyes. "It's your call, little miss."

Liz looked up at all of them as they awaited for her decision, perhaps the hardest decision that she would ever have to make.

"We can't save Silver," she started. She looked up at the phoenix above them. "We can't save ourselves. And we can't save Cleo." She gave a deep breath as she thought one last time of her final decision. Rogue gave her shoulder a squeeze as Storm weakly peaked out from inside the jet, using Xavier's wheelchair for comfort. Xavier held Lex in his arms, the baby sleeping soundly, unbeknownst to him that his world was about to end. All of the other mutants looked at Liz as she weighed her thoughts, though the answer was obvious.

"Kill Silver. Whatever happens – to save her from herself – she dies today."


	28. Silver's Savior

**Chapter 28: Silver's Savior**

By: Galadeidre

Every mutant present understood the magnitude of Liz's words and how difficult it was for her make this final decision. They all looked up at Silver, preparing themselves for the end, and silently saying farewell to Cleo.

Cyclops lifted his hand to the dial on his visor. "Good luck, everyone. Let's get this done." They all solemnly nodded.

Storm winced as she stood straight, yet still using Xavier's wheelchair as a support. "I'll give you some cover." Her eyes turned opaque as dark storm clouds began to roll in the sky and fog began to densely form, obscuring the mutants on the ground from any aerial view.

Silver noticed and gave a grin as her eyes widened in mock surprise. She tried to view through the thick clouds for signs of the mutants. "Storm? Oh, Ororo, don't waste your time. You'll be dead soon anyways, so why don't you conserve your energy? You don't want your last minutes on Earth to be not relaxing." She threw a fireball at a shadow in the clouds, but scowled when she realized it was just a bush. The fog was irritating her. "Ororo? Logan? Oh, Charlie, boy! Come out, come out wherever you are."

She heard a rustling to her left and shot another fireball in that direction. The fireball hit another tree; the tree came crackling down as another tremor shook the ground. A fireball came flying towards her and Silver held both her arms out to block the oncoming fireball. Cold metal sliced into her ribs from behind and she screamed. She caught the oncoming fireball, only to scream in surprise and pain as a laser shocked her vertebrae. Shards of ice slashed at her arms as they continued to hold the fireball, numbing her fingers and pushing the fire closer to her. She noticed another beam of laser from the corner of her eye and stepped to the side to avoid it, only to step on a card that exploded beneath her feet. The impact caused her to lose grip of the fireball, which slammed into her chest, throwing her backwards to the ground.

Silver groaned as she slowly got up. A voice – Wolverine's voice – spoke from within the fog. "Had enough yet? 'Cuz we're just getting' started!"

Silver chuckled as she lifted herself off the ground. She looked into the dense fog and grinned. "Oh, no, Wolfie. You forget who I have as my host!" She gave a shriek and sent a wave of searing hot flames, complete with a sonic pulse, in an outward circle, knocking all in its path. The sonic pulse did its trick: it located the jet – and located Storm.

Silver grinned and spun around flying straight towards the jet. She found Storm's neck and pinned her to the jet. The fog immediately dissipated, revealing the other mutants as they struggled to regain a sense of balance from the fire wave. Beast and Nightcrawler spotted Storm and Silver and cried out as they rushed to stop the Phoenix. Storm whimpered in pain as she weakly tried to pry out of Silver's grasp.

"You thought Ruby's flame was hot?" Silver hissed. "I'll burn you from the inside out and make you wish you had died by Ruby!"

Before she could commence her attack, Rogue barreled into her, knocking her away from the near-faint Storm. Beast and Nightcrawler reached Storm and carried her into the jet, Xavier following. Storm started to moan in pain and fear and Xavier touched her forehead with his fingertips to help mentally ease her mind. His face looked haggard as Beast and Nightcrawler diligently worked on wrapping her with cold compresses.

Rogue flew up, dodging another of Silver's fireballs. She threw her own ball of flame at another oncoming one and flew to the side to avoid the impact of the two fireballs. Unfortunately, Silver wasn't playing around anymore. Tapping into another one of Cleo's mutant abilities, Silver teleported right in front of Rogue and slammed her to the ground. Rogue cried out as Silver stepped on her arm, pinning her to the rumbling earth. Steam hissed around the young mutant as it escaped through the forming crevices of the ground and into the air.

Silver lifted her hand in the air, preparing to strike it heavily down to Rogue's chest – an obvious fatal blow. Ruby managed to fly towards Silver, grab her by the ankles, and drag her backwards, interrupting the attack, but not completely thwarting it; Silver's fist managed to land on Rogue's femur, Rogue screaming in pain as she felt crushing bone. Wolverine reached Rogue and lifted her in his arms, sprinting towards the jet. Bobby grabbed Rogue's hand in an effort to comfort her.

"Liz! Ana!" Cyclops called out in between laser attacks. "Get to the jet! Help them out!" Liz and Ana immediately ran to the jet to help bandage Rogue's wounds as Beast continued with Storm. Bobby stayed behind with Rogue as Wolverine raced back outside to help the others against Silver. He passed Mystique and Magneto who were swiftly walking up the ramp and into the jet.

"Charles," Magneto started as Mystique helped him sit down. "We need to leave. A wise retreat is just as worthwhile as a passionate battle."

"No!" Liz countered. "We need to make sure Silver can't do this to other worlds. It's too late for us anyways!"

Wolverine and Cyclops came running back in, overhearing Liz's comment. Cyclops shook his head. "Ruby says for us to get out of here. He says he'll take care of it."

Liz wasn't convinced. "But what if he can't do it? What if he can't kill Silver?"

"Trust me, kid," Wolverine answered. "He aint holding back anymore." He stared straight at the young mutant. "He'll make sure she's gone – even if it kills him."

Xavier wheeled beside Liz. "It may be easier for Ruby to stop Silver if it is one-on-one. Elizabeth, the decision is yours."

Liz took a couple of deep breaths. She looked at Ana as she spoke. "Fine…let's go then. Here's hoping all ends well…and that Ruby can finish the job."

Cyclops immediately ran to the controls to start up the jet engines. Wolverine poked his head out of the jet to call to Sabertooth, Toad, and Pyro. He quickly met Ruby's eyes, which conveyed the response that they were leaving, and Ruby nodded turning to Silver to make sure she was distracted as the other mutants prepared to leave. The minute the rest of the Brotherhood were inside the jet, Cyclops pushed the thrusters – and not a moment too soon; a huge crack in the earth opened, giving way to hissing pressurized steam from where the jet had just been parked.

"No!" Silver screamed as she noticed the jet taking off. She tried to fly towards the jet, but was thwarted by Ruby who grabbed her by the ankle and swung her backwards.

"Enough games, Silver!" Ruby yelled. He took a deep inhale as he prepared himself for what he had to do. "We end this now – you and me."

Silver scowled but gave a chuckle. "You can't kill me."

Ruby's eyes narrowed and his flaming head of hair began to burn brighter. "To prevent you from continuing this crazy rampage to other worlds, I will do what must be done."

Silver stopped smiling and stood up, forming two fireballs in her hand. "Then so be it, Ruby." She shot forward to attack him; Ruby did the same. They continued their battle.

* * *

Several of the mutants peered through the jet windows, watching as the battle of the phoenixes grew smaller as they lifted into the sky.

"Good luck to Ruby," Bobby muttered. "I sure hope he can end this." He looked towards Rogue, who was unconscious at the moment. "So what are we gonna do as Earth ends? I don't suppose we have a spaceship?"

Suddenly, Liz stood up in alarm, scanning the layout of the jet. "Professor…where's Lex?"

Immediately, the others were alert and also looking around – Lex was nowhere to be found.

Xavier looked at them in distressed concern. "He was asleep. He was here…" He closed his eyes to mentally locate the baby. Immediately, his eyes shot open and he looked at the young girls in distress. "He's…" All of the other mutants knew the answer.

Ana was near hysterics. Liz ran to the windows and looked down to the island, which was growing ever so smaller. "NO! Cyclops, we have to go back! We have to go back! Lex! LEX!"

Before a decision could be made by anyone else, Cyclops immediately turned the jet around and began to return towards the island. Wolverine held onto Liz and Ana, who were both in hysterics. "Cyclops!" Wolverine muttered. "Get us close enough there! I'll find him and get him back here. Nightcrawler, be ready to bring me up once I've got him!" Nightcrawler nodded.

Wolverine looked back at the two girls and gripped them in his arms for reassurance. "I'll find him. I'll find him," he whispered to the both.

* * *

Both phoenixes were knocked backwards as their latest attacks towards each other collided with such force, it knocked both of them off of their feet. Silver was quicker to recover. She flew up from her pile of debris and threw disc-shaped rings of fire at Ruby. Ruby wasn't able to dodge the rings and lifted up his arms to shield him from the brunt of the attacks, wincing as the rings sliced into his skin before dissipating. He wasn't about to give up. He slammed his fist into the ground, sending a crack through the earth and releasing steam into Silver's face, momentarily blinding her. He rammed into her, sending both of them pummeling into the ground. Ruby pinned her and lifted his arm to send a hail of rock and fire down at her. Silver flashed a stream of light, complete with what seemed like a firecracker right in front of Ruby's face, knocking him backwards. She lifted her leg to kick him in the chest, but Ruby grabbed her foot, twisting it in the opposite direction. Silver screamed as she felt the tendons stretch and a bone break. She threw a stream of fire towards Ruby in frustration but Ruby grabbed her outstretched arm and pinned her to the ground.

"I'm sorry, Silver," Ruby whispered as he kept her arms behind her back and prepared to give the final attack.

A small movement caught both the phoenixes' attention from the corner of their eyes, several meters away. In the fire and smoke, they noticed a small head of black curls bobbing back and forth. They both knew exactly who it was.

Ruby's eyes widened in shock and his grip on Silver loosened. That was all Silver needed. She gave a malicious grin and whispered to Ruby with a chuckle, "I'm sorry, too, Ruby." She pushed forward with her good foot and flew towards the little boy.

"Silver! No! Don't do it!" Ruby flew after her in panic.

Little Lex was toddling around, glancing from side to side in search of any familiar faces. His green eyes were wide with curiosity as he mouthed inaudible baby babbles. Soon, though, his curiosity gave way to fear and panic as his search for a familiar face through the thick smoke and debris ended in vain. He began to cry out.

Ruby threw a fireball to the back of Silver's head in distraction. He managed to reach Silver and grabbed her broken foot with a strong and fiery grip. Silver screamed and struggled to loosen his hold on her ankle; her struggling made the pain worsen and she threw a hail of mini fireballs at Ruby's face. She slowed her flight just slight enough to kick Ruby in the head with her good foot, making him lose his grip on her ankle, and then continued to speed forward. She spotted Lex a few feet ahead of her and prepared to strike, with two overly large fireballs, one in each hand.

"SILVER!" Ruby cried out.

Lex looked up just as Silver closed in on him. For whatever reason, he seemed to recognize some portion of his sister within the crazed phoenix, and lifted up his arms in a welcoming gesture. His eyes lit up in anticipation. "Mama!"

Silver came to an abrupt halt as shock overwhelmed her and the fireballs in her hands vanished in hissing steam. Her eyes were wild with confused and warring emotions.

Lex was confused as to why Silver wasn't lifting him up in her arms, as his sister would normally always do. He began to cry and wail. "Mam! Mama! Mama!"

Silver's mind was spinning. A wave of emotions that she thought she could never feel again were swelling deep within her, making her sick to her stomach. She dropped her arms to her side and slowly flew down to stand in front of the little baby. Ruby also noticed the sudden change of emotions and attitude and halted his advancement, unsure what the abrupt change would cause. There was screaming above in the far distance and a roar. Wolverine was charging towards Silver, his claws shining, as the others looked above in the jet. Ruby immediately flew towards Wolverine and stopped him from charging, reassuring him that everything seemed to be all right. Wolverine growled but stopped, guardedly staring at Silver.

Lex teetered towards Silver, continuing to wail for his mama. His bawling reminded Silver of another time, so very long ago, where the dying cries of a child were heard from a distance. Back then, she did nothing to soothe those wails. She closed her eyes to the fire and destruction around her, giving way to darkness; an image that she had not dared to think of for such a long time began to form in the black – a harsh winter storm, the bitter cold wasteland, a small beacon of light dying slowly away in that cold desert…

Lex's cries mixed with the howls that came from that little beacon. They were different, yet indefinitely the same. They cried for the same person, for the same reasons, for the same outcomes. Silver knew…it was so long ago. That little flame had been long gone. For decades, she had repressed that memory, replacing it with anger and bitterness, bottling up those emotions so that the outside world – those of her home planet – couldn't see what storm churned within her. Now that the memory had resurfaced, she didn't stop it. She was lost in a world not her own, listening to the cries of yet another infant. Her head was reeling, and she dropped to her knees in defeat as she allowed herself to become overwhelmed with the pain and torture that she had stored away all the past years.

Reality returned as Lex reached her and put his chubby arms around her neck, stifling his wails and hiccupping into her shoulder. He was content once more; and for Silver, it felt so natural to wrap her arms around the tiny infant's body that tears began to fall down her cheeks. Ruby watched as Silver opened her eyes. They were still a bright-orange color, yet they were a shade softer, warmer. She didn't look up as she spoke to Ruby in a soft voice – a completely different character than the violent phoenix that had planned destruction to the planet Earth.

"I hated them so much, Ruby. I still do. Amethyst, she…she deserved to live. None of this was her fault. None of it…they should have just left me in the Tundra…" she began to sob, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

Ruby slowly walked to Silver and squatted down a few feet away, careful to keep a stable distance between them. He gave a nod in understanding. "Not a day goes by that I do not think the same thing for myself." He sighed, choosing his next words carefully. "And that is the past that we both will have to live with. Yet…it is good to know that…that our daughter is not suffering anymore…"

Silver gave a sad smile. "Lucky for her. And we can continue suffering." She gave Lex a squeeze as she continued to silently cry.

Ruby sighed, his eyes also glistening with tears. "We don't have to suffer for much longer, Silver. We can get through this. Both you and I made it alive from our old home. I daresay that destiny has something much bigger in store for us now. Perhaps they are giving us the chance to be together…the chance that I truly believe we sorely deserve."

A large tremor shook the earth, shifting the plates beneath them. Lex gave a small jump and whined as he gripped Silver's neck tighter. Silver's eyes widened and her tears stopped as she looked around, fully returning to reality.

"Ruby…" she started. She stood up with Lex in her arms and looked around in horror. "…what have I done…? What…why would I do this? In my anger and blindness, I've destroyed another home? This child's home?" She gestured to Lex as she spoke, her eyes and voice in a state of panic. "I…I can't…what did I do? Ruby, what have I done?!"

Ruby rushed to Silver and wrapped his arms around her in comfort. He released his embrace from her and looked her in the eyes, trying to calm her state of mind. "Silver! We can still do this. We could still attempt to stop Earth from being destroyed. We just need to get to the core now. Silver, listen! Are you with me on this? Will you help me save Earth? Silver?" He gave her shoulders a slight shake, and their eyes met. Silver took a few deep breaths and momentarily closed her eyes. She reopened them; they were still filled with a slight hesitancy, but there was also determination set within them. She gave a nod and embraced Lex one last time.

Silver began to fly up towards the jet. Ruby followed after picking up Wolverine and also lifting him up to the suspended aircraft. The ramp opened, and the phoenixes entered into the jet along with their passengers. The other mutants were poised, ready to strike, unsure of what all had transpired down below.

Silver never left her gaze from Liz and Ana and gently set Lex on the floor of the jet. Ana scurried forward to lead Lex towards the cockpit where Xavier was watching.

Wolverine walked towards Liz and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, kid." He gave a glance at Silver. "She's the old-old Silver now. I think. The good Silver. Or at least the _semi_-good Silver, if anything."

Liz's eyes narrowed. "You sure?"

Silver lifted both her hands in calm surrender and nodded. "Words can't express how truly sorry I am. I hope to someday make that up to you."

"Someday, huh?" Liz let her guard down, but was still scowling at Silver. "I dunno if we have much more than today left."

Silver nodded and took a deep breath. Ruby lightly touched her arm and Silver gave him a glance in confirmation. "There's a chance that we can still reverse the effects. I cannot guarantee how successful we'll be – and in advance, I'm sorry once more – but we're hoping that it isn't too late to stabilize the core."

"Do what you need to do," Cyclops remarked. "If Ruby trusts you now, I'm hoping that's good news. Good luck."

Silver nodded and both turned to leave. Silver suddenly halted and turned back around. "Thank you, by the way."

"For what?" Liz asked. She lifted up her baby brother who had begun to curiously explore the jet.

"For him." Silver nodded towards Lex. "He may be an infant…but he reminded me of what I had lost. And saved me from what I was. He's a remarkable little boy." She gave a small smile and flew out of the jet and towards the distant volcano.

Liz gripped tightly onto Lex, who was babbling incoherently and was unaware of anything that had transpired. Liz watched for a moment longer through the windows and then turned to Cyclops and Xavier. "Professor, if we could, let's get out of here."


End file.
